"In what ways do Hogg and Black demonstrate the features of the form Ballenger talks about on p. 94? Be sure to give specific examples. In what ways do they differ from his description? Finally: what do you think is the controlling idea (the “so what”) of Hogg’s and Black’s essays?”
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In "I'm a Believer" and “The Joy of Mud” both authors utilize what Ballenger calls “features of the form” (Ballenger 94). These features highlight and help categorize the two stories and personal essays. Both essays are written in the form of first person. Because both essays are written in first person, it allows for the reader to feel a greater emotional connection to authors rather than if the essays had been written about someone (third person). Ballenger states that is the “tension between the subject and the writer as the writer reaches for new understandings” (Ballenger 94) is what makes personal essays in first person work. Also, both essays rely on the authors’ memories of their past experiences to bring their personal essays to life. Hogg in “I’m a Believer” states that she is recalling memories “[From] in 1977, at the age of six”(Hogg B1) while Black in “The joy of Mud” state that it was an “endless summer [she] I remember[ed] so well.” (Black B11) Both authors’ are clearly going back to their past and recalling fond memories to explain their experiences. One finale Similarity both essays have with Ballenger’s forms is that both are written as Narratives. Both authors’ clearly tell not only the physical story but also a story of the authors’ feelings and thoughts. In “I’m a Believer”, we are not only told of the story of how much Charlotte loves Davy Jones of the Monkees but, we are also told of how much Charlotte’s thoughts, emotions and realizations towards Davy Jones matures over her lifetime. In “The Joy of Mud”, Catherine Black tells her physical story of working in “Knee deep" mud (Black B12) in a forest in Hawai’i all the while telling an emotional story of how she longs to “belong” somewhere.
While these personal essays following most of Ballenger’s feature of the form, they also contain writing styles that go against the form for writing personal essays. Ballenger notes that “the subject of the essay is often a common place.” (Ballenger 94) Though the subjects the authors write about may be a common place to them, they are obviously not common places to most readers. Hogg finds herself embracing Davy [David] Jones in almost every form and fashion. While Black tells of the time she found herself in knee high mud searching for harvestable taro. Both of these situations cannot be deemed “common Subjects” (Ballenger 94) to the readers.
Finally, I believe the controlling idea in Charlotte Hogg’s essay is that no matter how much you read or follow a person, you will never get to know the true person until you actually “meet” them. Basically, 'don’t judge a book by its cover'. In the end, Charlotte finally realized that the Davy Jones she had read and worshiped for years may or may not have been like real David Jones person, not the singer/actor. In “The Joy of Mud” the controlling idea is that 'Home is where the heart is.' Though she was not born nor raised in Hawai’i, Catherine Black finds herself realizing, while searching through mud that Hawai’i was her true home and where she belonged.
2 comments:
Holly,
I really enjoyed reading your blog response. I thought it was interesting how you stated that not only are the authors telling a physical story but also an emotional one. Also in your second paragraph I like how you stated that the topics of these stories may be commonplace to the authors but not necessarily commonplace to the readers. I found that so true, because to me an obsession with the Monkees isn’t necessarily common. Also I like how you used direct quotes from the author of the text book, Bruce Ballenger. Finally, I really liked your spin on the controlling ideas in each story.
I like the way your response was written and the clarity you used when answering all the questions that were asked. Your compare and contrast paragraphs of how Ballenger states what a personal essay should contain is very similar to how mine was written. I like the way you used quotes from the two essays to help prove your points. Another thing I like was the controlling idea sections. Every response that I’ve read has been different from one another when it comes to the controlling ideas, but I feel that yours sums it up quite well. The use of common phrases to sum up the controlling ideas made it easier for me to understand them. I enjoyed reading your response.
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