Suggested Essays During the Profile Essay (Lady Olga and Holiday)

In "Lady Olga," Joseph Mitchell gives us an incredibly descriptive profile on a bearded lady named Jane Barnell. I do really like that the first sentence draws a reader in with something unexpected ("Jane Barnell occasionally considers herself an outcast and feels that there is something vaguely shameful about the way she makes a living"), and that's one of the things I've been trying to focus on for my own revision. Jumping right into the conflict, or what makes the person interesting, is definitely the way to go as opposed to doing a standard, almost manufactured opening.

While there is a wealth of information here, I think that's what makes me dislike the piece. I'm sure it's good, but it certainly isn't for me. I much prefer profiles that use shorter bursts of sentences in an attempt to more hastily paint a better picture, if that makes sense. Even so, Mitchell puts his descriptive qualities to good use in describing her looks. He didn't simply stop at what he saw, but sometimes even included what other people saw, such as the line where Monty Woolley saw her once when she was dressed up and described her as Elsa Maxwell with a beard. That sort of description creates a fuller view of the person, which is something this piece has taught me that I need to do with my own essay in order to break the surface.

The "Holiday" essay was short and pretty wonderful: definitely more like the preferred type I was talking about earlier. I like how the writing seems to match the attitude of Joey, who seemed to be extremely hyper and fast-moving despite his disability. There isn't much to say here beyond the fact that most of it is based around scenes and stories, which is probably a reason this essay was suggested. I recall during workshop that I needed more stories interwoven in my own essay to help explain some things, and there is an excellent mix of profile and scene here. Most strikingly, though, is that final paragraph. It's short, but it feels like the whole mood changes. Joey was so excited to be part of this, and put everything into it, only for the reader to discover at the end he has no interest in performing because he doesn't like people watching him. Beyond that, he wants to become an accountant. There's something really special there, and I like it a lot, but I'm not sure I have the words to describe why. It just feels like the perfect ending.

Post 1900 Essay Annotation -- "My Face"

"Merely as an observer of natural phenomena, I am fascinated by own appearance."

The first line of Robert Benchley's essay "My Face" states something rather obvious about human nature: our level of caring for our own appearance. While his motives may have been a tad different in the early twentieth century, it's remarkable how true this remains in today's generation.

"Each day I look like someone, or something, different."

Benchley states shortly after this that he has no idea what he'll look like until he observes it in the mirror. While I don't believe he is a shape-shifter, and I'm sure there's some deeper meaning here, but I wonder if the combination of a tired mind and, perhaps, a mind that *wants* to see someone (or something) else in the mirror is what drives the phenomena. Then he mentions that the days he doesn't look like anything shocks him back into bed, which may further support the idea that he isn't entirely happy with who he is. However, he is attempting to take a shot at himself with a humorous undertone.

"In some pictures I look even worse than I had imagined."

Another classic scenario that holds true today. It's almost as though our brains are designed to think we look far worse in pictures than we think we will. But, maybe, that's simply because the concept of being entirely still is unnatural. The world is always moving, and that it is in that lifelike movement that we look our best as opposed to one still frame that can amplify our faults.

"My only hope is that, in this constant metamorphosis which seems to be going on, a winning number may come up sometime, if only for a day."

Talk about depressing. I think he's longing for the day that he can wake up, stagger over to the mirror in a sleepy haze, and see a person that he is truly proud to be. One that doesn't take the form of someone else that he may envy, but instead reflects himself as an individual, or a human being that has achieved a life he deems worth living.

"As a matter of fact, my upper lip is pretty fascinating by itself, in a bizarre sort of way."

It's a shame we didn't get a sequel entitled "My Upper Lip". It might have been wonderful, if a bit shorter. Still, it's good to know that he intends to try to keep his head up high as he goes day after day. It tells us that, at the time, he still had hope for himself, and wasn't quite ready to let the daily metamorphosis become a truly permanent phenomena.

The Great Divider

Everything newer than this post is being submitted as according to the portfolio requirement sheet. That's probably obvious, but I wanted it to be crystal clear (mostly for my own benefit -- I need to keep track of everything).

I'm so excited to get started. As of the current time, I cannot find my Short Takes book, which is the worst thing that could be happening right now. I hope it turns up.

"Men at Night" and "Love, Science, and Comics: The Nerdscapade"

Both "Men at Night" and "Love, Science, and Comics: The Nerdscapade" primarily revolve around a sense of uneasiness, but within each main character lies a bit of expectancy. David Huddle is ready to make his jump, while Alicia is sure that a relationship with this boy would never work out. In the end, Huddle is unexpectedly called back from the jump and Alicia finds that her potential relationship could totally work out (and it does).

I think the primary difference here is in how the author decides to handle that feeling of the unknown. With Huddle, he gives no hints up to the point of flat-out revealing that the plans have changed. This leads to a build-up of suspense, leaving the reader wondering what is going to happen when he makes that jump. In Alicia's essay, we are constantly given hints that the relationship works out ("even now I still joke about how he had to have somehow had ancestors that were trees" and "it was not by his family at all, they as a whole were and still are sweeter than a tall glass of southern-style sweet tea" come to mind). I think that's something Alicia could take from Huddle: the addition of suspense. Maybe lead us on to believe that there isn't exactly a happy ending.

Overall, my main point is that while I find Alicia's own anxiety and expectations to have been in place during the scenes expressed in the essay, I don't feel like it's completely passed on to the reader, and that's where she could take her essay next.

Rebecca Solnit

The passage on 248 is one that I'll maintain a love/hate relationship with. I can see where she's coming from, but at the same time, I hate to agree with it fully because she seems to be putting an insane level of importance on this idea of being other people (such as people who have never lived and strangers you’ve never met). It seems a bit (dare I say it) pretentious, I suppose.

As for its relevance to the book, I imagine that can be seen most prominently in her relationship with her mother. I personally had to witness the horror of my grandmother going through the terrible stages of Alzheimer's, and the caring-for process is one that would come to define a person. She seems to be acknowledging this as well right there in this passage, as she mentions “the forgettings and the misrememberings”. I guess in a way her mother had to sort of live through her as well. As the disease progressed, and her memory became far worse, what could she happen to know outside of Rebecca Solnit’s life? It would have to be her experiences that shaped her mother’s feelings and thoughts at the time.

I can entertain the notion that we, as the human race, do lead somewhat intertwined lives. It’s true that people you’ll never meet (or even hear of) can affect your life, after all.