Pilgrims by Julie Orringer

In Pilgrims by Julie Orringer, there are many things that caught my attention.  One thing that I noticed was the description used to set up the story.  The details that Orringer used bring the reader into the story, as though he or she is a bystander.  There is more description used instead of dialogue to give the reader an idea of what the setting looks like, and to bring out the characters.  When Peter comes to get Ella to clean up, his eyes are “small and cold” (Orringer 17).  It may be thought that children would say things more joyfully, but the situations that these children come from have transformed these children into adults in a forceful way.  The transformation can be seen also in the way that the children play with each other.  Instead of playing games like tag or hide-and-seek, “Four kids stood in the semidarkness, wide-eyed and still as sculptures, each bound at the ankles and wrists with vine handcuffs” (9).  This represents the world that they are trapped in because of their family situations.  These children cannot be actual children since they have broken families.  This scene takes away the innocence of children, while the parents seem to be more innocent and child-like based on the fact that they need to be taken care of by their families.  The kids are almost barbaric, not only knowing about death but also creating games about killing people.  This can reference cancer itself, and how it can tear the body apart, just like it can tear a body of a family apart.  The tooth seems to represent Ella’s innocence being lost as her family goes through a difficult time with her mother’s cancer.  She is also being forced to grow up quickly, and the way she loses her tooth is an allusion to that.  “The new tooth’s already coming in” (11) can also be a reference to the maturity that is growing inside of Ella, as she begins to grow up.  

High School Writing

Academic Writing

            In high school, writing was always considered important for every class.  My school prided itself on the fantastic English department they had, so they worked hard to give students the right tools and methods to write papers.  We would write anything from literary analyses to short stories to poetry.  We wrote about everything and learned as we wrote about different types of writing and ways to make it better.  My teachers each had different methods to teach me, but I think they have made me into a well-rounded writer.  My senior year English class always took time to write because there were so many requirements when it came to papers, however we did not write that many papers.  Our biggest experience with writing papers was when we wrote a research paper as a part of our senior thesis project.  It took a lot of work though, but it is the paper of which I am most proud.  Despite the problems that I have had with writing, I feel that I am prepared for writing in college and I am ready to use the tools that will help my writing.

Public Writing

            I have rarely written for a public audience.  I have always been self conscious about my writing, so I have never been a part of a school newspaper or magazine.  Sometimes, I have had to read my writing in front of people in my English class, most recently a short story we were required to write at the end of my senior year.  Unfortunately, this was not a choice but after I read, I was given constructive criticism, which helped me develop my story.  I have written a blog, but it was for my German class my junior year to communicate with an English class in Berlin.  We would publish blog posts in German, while they would write theirs in English.  I have responded to blogs online as well, and I have responded to other comments on those blogs.  Another form of public writing, which may not be considered ‘writing’ by some, is Twitter.  I am a big hockey fan, so I communicate with people such as fans, reporters and even the players themselves.  What I ‘tweet’ is meant for not only my followers, but for anyone that shows an interest in hockey or whatever I have to say that day.  I think that if I did more public writing, I would have more freedom than I would have had in the classroom.  Because I would have fewer restrictions, I could possibly say some things that I would have not put in writing for school or I could write about more controversial topics.  I find the idea of writing for an audience intimidating.  I am always worried about making a mistake or not writing well, so I am worried about what people may think. 

Representations of the Body in Literature

            I do not tend to follow a particular writer, but I do tend to look at short stories without dialogue.  I find this type of writing compelling because I am fascinated by detail.  I love when everything is said by the description of the scene and those in the scene.  When I read, I always love describing the person.  What he or she is wearing, doing, or what he or she looks like.  In most stories, there tends to be a lot of dialogue that helps connect the story, but there are a few stories that have less dialogue and are still really powerful.  Most poets and authors only write about people and the body, because it is what the audience and the author or poet themselves understand best.  There are many different ways our world shows how important the body is to us.  An example (which is not necessarily writing) is the Lion King on Broadway.  It embraces the animal body in the costumes that allow the body to be showcased.  The writing, however, reflects how the actors need to act in order to portray the animals both in the speech and in the actions.  I think that I will find this course interesting, especially with my love of short stories and description and attention to detail. 

Welcome

Hi, my name is Sydney Stype and I am 18 years old.  I am a student athlete at the Ohio State University.  I play field hockey and I am a goalie.  I have been playing for seven years now.  I am a huge hockey fan and my favorite team is the Columbus Blue Jackets.  I am from Upper Arlington, Ohio and I am looking forward to posting in this blog for my English class in my first quarter.