I D-ecisions

Considering the overall story of Anne and David in Crooked River Burning, I think my second essay will be on how our decisions (good or bad) help to form our identity. Think about it, most of how we come to know ourselves is through choices. Do we go to church on Sunday? We’re a good Christian. Do we blow off friends to hang out with some boy? We’re a bad friend. Do we steal a piece of candy from the corner store and feel guilty or not? We’re a thief or repentant in the making. Life is full of choices. (Wait! Is that a cliché?) If we play close attention to the choices we make and look for patterns, we can start to make the decisions we want to get us where we’re going.

Just as Crooked River Burning is a complicated story, so is my life. It has been very hectic over the last month. As I was playing catch up with my schoolwork, I realized that I have to find a way to get organized and use the resources available. Hence, I limited my search for a print source to the library catalog. There were only a couple of options for me regarding my topic, so I used one of the two books that showed up in my initial search. I chose the book because it contained actual stories from the author. This helped me get to know the author Dawn Powell through her writing and not just from biographical data or reviews. Considering that the book is a compilation of four of her stories, I considered it to be a worthy source.
Work Cited
Powell, Dawn. Novels, 1944-1962. New York, N.Y.: Library of America, 2001. Print.

Drown Me in the Crooked River!

Drown me in the Crooked River, please! I am having the hardest time following this story. It seems that the writer jumps around too much, not only in the thoughts but in the points of view as well. However, when he first starts to describe David’s and Anne’s first meeting at Kelly’s Island, he does seem to be taking his ADD meds. That’s really the first part of the book where I was able to read more than four pages at a time. My guess is that I shouldn’t have read the plethora of reviews at the beginning of the book before I started reading. The hype set me up for a letdown. Fortunately, I see a good story under the bad writing and think I can cross this river without the drowning. (Let’s hope!)

National Treasure - NOT!

“I.O.U.S.A.” is a video that discusses the credit crisis in the United States and addresses some of the causes as well as possible solutions. To help viewers understand the seriousness of the crisis and how it affects the national debt, the creators break the crisis up into four areas of deficit - budget deficit, savings deficit, trade deficit and leadership deficit. To make their argument experts such as Alan Greenspan and Warren Buffet were interviewed, a historical analysis of the debt was provided and an overview of how the government works financially was provided.

I enjoyed this movie for many reasons. First of all, I think that the creators made a good argument using aspects of egos, pathos and logos. They did this through the use of expert interviews with people like Alan Greenspan and Warren Buffet, by providing historical charts and future projections, and by playing on the viewers’ sense of patriotism in wanting America to succeed. Second, I liked the way that the movie was organized. They didn’t just state the problem and focus on pathos to call the audience into action. By providing background and breaking the argument into sections, they were able to teach viewers about each aspect so that an understanding of the whole problem could be understood. Finally, by providing the education on the different areas of the problem, they were able to guide viewers to the outcome they wanted, which was their final call to action. Now, do I just view this as an assignment? Or do I answer the call?

Motherhood Paradox

Out of strength comes weakness and from weakness comes strength. It’s an amazing paradox that can be seen in the relationship between Lydia and Treasure. Lydia would do anything to help provide Treasure with a better life. Treasure is her strength to stay away from Lloyd. In addition, she is Lydia’s driving force to complete a college degree. However, when it comes to trying to provide Treasure with strength, it is here that Lydia shows her weakness. Lydia wants Treasure to have a father who will be there for her and give Treasure the love only a father can share. Because of this, Lydia allows Lloyd into their lives. She sees Lloyd’s temperament reflected in Treasure’s behavior and eventually pays the price for giving in when “Treasure jump[s] up and lunge[s] at her mother” (355). It is in this brutal scene that we see the deep-seated hatred that is brewing inside of Treasure. Lydia must make a choice. She is weak and broken-hearted and decides to let Treasure go. Lydia realizes that “Treasure [needs] to taste the ripeness of life; she need[s] to learn life’s lessons, even if it [leaves] a dent in her” (363). After tasting another lifestyle with her father, Treasure does learn these lessons and returns to Lydia. In the end, this period of weakness allowed them both to make decisions that helped return them both back to a state of strength.

As a mother, these passages spoke to me because I sometimes struggle with letting my daughter figure things out for herself or deciding her every move. I related to Lydia’s desire to help Treasure be all that she was created to be and the sadness when Treasure literally “spit in her face” (355). Although my daughter and I don’t go to the extremes told in the story, we have our moments. And I pray, just like Lydia did, that our struggles will lead to a better life for my daughter.

Work Cited
Marlow, L.Y.. Color Me Butterfly. Maryland: éL publishing, 2007. Print.

Peer Reviewed

I really enjoyed our peer review session. It was a little less intimidating than a graded review by a professor. Moreover, receiving feedback from another student allowed me an even better understanding of what a student audience might pick up on that I may not have realized. Taking Sarah’s comments into consideration, I think I will be able to better craft my message to make my voice heard instead of just spewing out examples. This ties into the skill that I am continuing to learn and develop which is critical thinking. Critical thinking, in my opinion, is my weakness. Having to think carefully about what I say / write, being able to back it up with reasons, and persuade an audience will definitely be something I can use in all aspects of my life. In future courses, I will be able to engage more fully in dialogue and feel confident about my arguments. At work, I will be able to transfer this skill into drafting thorough proposals for initiatives backing up my viewpoint while taking opposition into consideration. And most importantly, as a mom of a teenager with a gift for arguing a point, I will be able to support my parental decisions with fair and considerate explanations.

"Women's Ways of Knowing"?

I accept the challenge, Dr. Wright! I'm going to use "Women's Ways of Knowing"(WWoK) to analyze Roy. Roy starts out as a subjective knower. One such example is on page 81 when he first meets Mattie. He has many feelings and thoughts locked inside, which WWoK describes as "personal, private self, unshareable". As his relationship with Mattie becomes more volatile, he still appears to be in this developmental stage. All authority comes from him and not from others. Even when Mattie is sick and needs medical attention he blows it off. “You’re probably just comin’ down with a cold or something. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with you.” (p. 127) However, a change in his development seems to come about the time he meets Miss Lola. He seems to be transitioning into a Procedural Knower. “He was spooked by [Miss Lola’s] questions and even more perplexed that she seemed to know the answers.” (p.143) Roy is recognizing that some authority (in this case insight from Miss Lola) can come from others. Once Roy grows in this relationship, he seems to stay at this level of knowing until his death.