TOW #19 - College essay that worked

This week I read a college essay written by a student who was accepted to UC Berkley. The topic of the essay was to "Describe the world you live in" and this student took a very unique path in responding to it. They started with, "Most children acquire the same eye color or a similar shaped nose from their parents, but I've inherited much more: a passion for learning and and insatiable curiosity which has served me well throughout my academic career." (para. 1). This topic sentence of their introductory paragraph is the reason that their essay made such an impact on their admission because of its uniqueness and connection to the student's intended major (computer science). I feel that most students would answer this prompt in terms of their cultural and ethnic backgrounds, whereas this student, who may not have a very rich or involved cultural background, chose to describe what has ultimately affected their world the most. This is an excellent strategy because the student could have easily faked their way through an essay about how their German-immigrant great-grandparents have 'greatly impacted their life'. Instead they chose to take a creative and honest route, all while revealing why they plan on pursuing the major they have chosen. It not only provides a great platform for the integrity of their essay, but also gives a very personal touch.

TOW #18 - "Knoxville: Summer of 1915"

This beautiful essay by James Agee was written in 1938. After some research, I found that he had wrote it in a mere ninety minutes because he was practicing experiments with what we call free-form writing. Agee appeals to a lot of sensory factors, especially imagery when describing a "mid-summer's eve" in his hometown of Knoxville. The most emphasized symbol was a garden hose, which Agee spent nearly the entire middle portion of his essay talking about. "First an insane noise of violence in the nozzle, then the still irregular sound of adjustment, then the smoothing into steadiness and a pitch as accurately tuned to the size and style of stream as any violin." (172). This symbol was important in aiding Agee's overall purpose of describing how much times have changed since that summer in 1915. A garden hose is seen most often during the summer than any other time of year, whether it is watering a lawn or powering a sprinkler. To Agee, it is the ideal image of summer, and is what he remembers most vividly about the summer of 1915. Another symbol emphasized by Agee was the porches that wrapped around nearly every single house. He believed that something as simple as porches were an essential part of bringing families together, because they would gather on their porch together after dinner in summers to enjoy the sunsets and warm nights. It is important to realize that Agee is describing all of these events with a very nostalgic tone, because after the summer of 1915, his life would change dramatically. His father died the next year and the implementation of a television in every home on his street would mean families would no longer enjoy their time together outside on their porches. And so the lovely wraparound porch would no longer be built on houses erected after the summer of 1915. Agee's ways of describing this fond childhood memory are very effective in getting across his purpose, and he does a wonderful job of telling how important this summer was.

TOW #17 - "The Hills of Zion"

This week I decided to read "The Hills of Zion" by H. L. Mencken, which I had heard of before, but never knew what it was about. To my surprise, my interpretation of the title meant that the essay was set on Mount Zion Jerusalem wasn't all that wrong. Even though the setting was 1920s Tennessee, it had just as much religious fervor as Jerusalem might have. While Mencken had travelled to Dayton, Tennessee to attend the trial of John Scopes, he ended up experiencing something much different. Christian 'extremists' were rampant in the small center of Rhea county. A woman passing through was offered a Coca Cola before her returning journey in the hot sun, but she refused because it "...was prohibited by the country lady's pastor, as a levantine and hell-sent narcotic." (108). As strange as it might seem, the country lady was practically running out of town before the woman who offered her the Coca Cola could bring her ice cream that she asked for. This event in the essay along with many other provides vivid imagery for the reader, and is important in showing how religion affects the small community (as you will later see...). At night, Mencken decides to attend a sort of 'late-night' sermon on a townsperson's farm. Sneaking up, he can see that the pastor is borderline screaming in the name of the Lord, and as he finally takes a seat among the others, they are participating in the strangest form of worship I have ever heard of. The audience members of the sermon surrounded a girl who had 'asked for prayers' and began praying and speaking in tongues all around her. "Her head jerked back, the veins of her neck swelled, and her fists went to her throat as if she were fighting for breath. She bent backward until she was like half a hoop. Then she suddenly snapped forward. We caught a flash of the whites of her eyes. Presently her whole body began to be convulsed--great throes that began at the shoulders and ended at the hips. She would leap to her feet, thrust her arms in the air, and then hurl herself upon the heap." (111). This strange act of what seems like 'catching the holy spirit' was not an uncommon practice for the town. In fact, the whole thing seemed like just an average evening for them. This strange example of imagery is very important in helping the reveal the author's purpose because it shows how religion was such a governing institution at the time. From giving up Coca Cola, tea, coffee, and pies to convulsing in prayer on farm at midnight, religion was these townspeople's whole life. It was there when life got rough and helped them determine right from wrong. Ultimately, it gave them the stability they needed in such a rapidly changing society.