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On this page that is linked from my blog, you will find some of my writing from EN151- my writing studio. On the right side there is a little box with links that can take you quickly to each different written piece. This is my first one, my about page, which is followed by my reflections piece. In my reflections I talk about where I have seen improvement, where I struggled or did very well, what I enjoyed, and how I feel overall about the course. Also, I have included a hint of advice for incoming students who have to take this course for a different semester.

Under my reflections is my latest in class writing. We were given three pieces of paper with a random word listed on each. We were to write a story about a character who possessed these items and how this character came to have them. Then we traded to receive three new ones, and we had to follow the same concept, except that this character had to be as far different as possible from the first one. In the last part, these two characters meet, and we were to tell the story of how this possibly came to be. I included this piece because I feel like it shows the most free-form of creativity that I have as of right now. In earlier ones, I tried too hard to find the creativity that I was often stuck.

Next is my research paper written on the Rococo Era. In this writing I included information about the Baroque Era before, how the Rococo formed, what it mainly consisted of, and also touched on the following Neoclassical Era. Included are several art pieces to give examples of the different stages so that the readers can visualize what my descriptions look like.

A homework paper follows that was a response to the articles Between Art and Architecture. I chose this homework assignment because it was one of my favorites and therefore I considered it to be one of my best. The article contained a lot of passion which really drew me in, and so my reaction was also made up of emotion.

My Critiquing Blink was my final response to the novel by Malcolm Gladwell where I reread through all of my responses throughout the book and created a final critique on it. Blink was an excellent book I believe and I feel like I did a pretty fine job on my critique of it as well.

The last included writing is my process analysis paper. This paper was by far my absolute favorite that I have ever written. I have a passion for Starbucks and am a frequent customer of theirs. I had the opportunity to be creative with it and make my paper really fun- so that is what I did.

Enjoy reading through my work! I would love any feedback with opinions or questions. I think that my voice is really starting to develop and I feel like it is beginning to show through all of my writings, even though they are all on different topics. Let me know what you think!

Reflection

Over the course of the semester, I believe that my writing has improved a pretty good deal. I have learned a bit pertaining to grammar, such as with “sense” and “since”, and I also have learned some more about citations and how to properly weave them into my papers. Mostly I have grown in being a creative writer and being more open in my writing. I was not as restricted in this course as I have been in the past.

Personally, I have always absolutely loved writing literally ever since I learned how to write. So my feelings have not changed much other then the fact that I have learned to love story writing-or more free writing even more than before.

Writing my Starbucks process analysis paper was my absolute favorite. I, of course, was very passionate about my subject and already knew a ton of information about the topic. I enjoyed being creative with it and was delighted about the fact that I had some people tell me that they used some of my tips the next time they visited Starbucks.

I had been really excited to write my research paper in the beginning. I did not know anything about the Rococo Era and thought I had a good angle going about it. But I was so crunched on time with other huge papers being due, in addition to other work, that in the end I was pretty much throwing it all together just so that I would meet the criteria. So the research paper was the most difficult for me under those standards.

I would have to say that my critical review covering Blink was where I have improved the most. It may not necessarily be obvious to anyone who reads it, but my prior teacher would see it. And I think it is more of a personal improvement. I have always been awful with book reading responses only because I had no passion for it. But I feel like I pulled myself together well for this one.
My favorite homework assignment would have to be my response to Between Art and Architecture, which I have also included in my final portfolio. I enjoyed the reading, and therefore really liked doing the assignment. I also really liked editing and responding to other students' rough drafts for their papers.

Really, I was not the biggest fan of The Curious Researcher. I was so bored with it and just did not like having to answer so many questions about other written documents. I also was not too thrilled about Blink. I just did so many book responses like this the past two years that I more dreaded it rather than enjoyed it.

As far as in class writings are concerned, they were very open and I felt like I could really write about whatever came to mind. I was not really required to think, and I favored that. When I took other literature courses, I had such strict guidelines as to what I could write, that if I wrote as freely, there would more likely be conflict.

I was asked to include my final drafts, in addition to an out of class writing and in class writing. The out of class writing I included in my final portfolio was the piece by Maya Lin, that I had mentioned earlier in my favorite writing section. There was a large amount of pathos in the story, and so I found myself really able to enjoy it. Because of the pathos, it also caused me to include emotion in my response. Included is also the most recent in class writing that we have written. When I first came in to the class, as I have mentioned, I was not used to such a free thought form of writing, In the beginning I was pretty rigid with it and tried to put so much thought into it that I was stuck for most of the time. This last one I wanted to include because it contains my most free form of mind up to right now.
I have taken several writing and literature classes- a couple that were college courses, and I still benefited from taking this particular course. It really is a lot more fun than most others I have taken, and really students should be opened minded about it all. Do all of your work- this class really doesn't take up a lot of your time, so just do it.

This course was put on my schedule for me, coming in as an incoming freshman, but when I saw I had it, I envisioned a repetitive class that called for an incredible amount of writing, with boring lectures. It did exceed my expectations-that is for sure. And honestly, I am glad that I had to take it.

Before I entered this course, I realized that audience was important, but I didn't realize how important it really is. In this course it took the part of a huge aspect which we were asked to focus on specific audiences for certain writings. I also had never used a library online database to find journals and such like we did for the research paper. That was very useful and more challenging to have to really search within only that database. In the writing process, I have Brain Stormed every once in awhile, but not the type where I jot down several of my ideas and narrow it down-it was more like putting down one idea and brainstorming how to use it. Having peers read and edit my drafts really helped me, and I enjoyed that process. Overall, I feel like I have grown in all areas of the Course Goals and Objectives and I definitely feel like my writing, thinking and collaboration skills have improved because of this class.

In Class Margery & Bengie

Needles, Marbles, Diamond Necklace

There was once an old lady named Margery who lived right outside of a small town called Peachville in Ringgold, Georgia. Margery didn't work, nor did she have any outside family that anyone knew of. Except for of course her two cats, Bonnie and Frederick. Margery is 87 and a half years old, turning 88 on December the 26th. She is about 5'4, her long hair is a soft pearly white with a few silver highlights here and there. Her eyes are a soft gray blue surrounded by chicken feet from years and years of laughter. No one really knows much about Ms. Margery, except that she goes to the market to pick up her groceries every Monday afternoon, and she stands in the same old check out line that Mr. Ben works. On most days, when you walk by her house, you'll find her out in her yard, tending to her garden, or sitting on her rocking chair that lives on her porch, just swinging away without a care in the world. If you stop to say hello, you cannot leave without her telling you about her three absolute favorite items: her case of needles, little pouch of marbles, and her diamond necklace. Her story is one to hear- but I'll leave it to Margery to tell you about it. I'll give you a hint though, her story is made up of striving to make ends meet by sewing night and day, playing marble matches to win a ticket, and a diamond necklace from the love of her life.


Book on dream analysis, Matches, Tightie Whities

Up in Iceland, where the grass is green, and the mountains are high, there is a little nook in a pile of stones where a little hobbit man named Benjie resides. Benjie is a curious fellow. His skin is a dark olivey green color, and his hair is raggedy brown and stiff. He wears a striped hat on his head, always has a match behind each ear, carries a book on dream analysis in his hands at all time, and you can be sure, he never goes anywhere without a clean pair of tightie whities in his front left pocket. Benjie's age is uncertain. He looks as though he could be 43, or maybe 29, or perhaps 107. The features of Benjie's face would never tell. The days are all the same for him-consisting of the same routine. He wakes up from his little place under the cool stones to go to a tree that never has any leaves and sit and read his book on dream analysis. He reads the book entirely each day-sometimes upside down, other times backwards, and every once in awhile he just recites the book outloud. He then goes back to his stones to change into whiter pair of whitie tighties so he can go out and collect a hand full of leaves, along with a bundle of sticks. He takes this arm load down to the stream, over to this ginormous tree where he has made himself a little playroom. Inside he lays down the sticks and leaves in the middle of a fire ring, and he strikes a match to start a fire.


Margery and Benjie Meet

Ms. Margery's neighbor of 25 years, is 29 year old Felicity Caroly who is a school teacher at Peachtown Elementary School. Margery has always taken care of Felicity and she never knew how to pay her back. Margery never got out to do anything, she was never interested in receiving house help or moving into a Nursing Home facility- she was content where she was. It was coming up to Felicity's class Christmas Party and she thought she would invite Margery to come along. Margery agreed to join Felicity and her young class of students for their Christmas party that December 21 evening and it changed her life around. While the boys and girls were eating their sugar cookies and building their gingerbread houses, there was a knock on the door. Felicity went to answer it, and there was a Santa Claus in a bright red suit with rosy cheeks, just gleaming and holding a sack full of gifts. Felicity knew there was supposed to be a surprise visitor so she invited him in. Every child had a chance to see Santa to tell him what he or she wanted for Christmas this year, and each one got a gift they had desired. When it came time for Margery's turn, she said that there was nothing that she wanted that he could give to her. He chuckled to himself, because he knew exactly what it was she had been wanting all of these years. He told her to just wait, he was going to make her wish come true. After the children had gone home and everything was cleaned up, Santa Claus asked Margery to come up to the roof with him for a minute. Felicity said good bye and winked at Santa as she walked out. Margery went up and right in front of her was a sleigh with reindeer all lined up and gnawing on apples as they waited. Santa looked at her and said, “you're finally going to get to meet him”. Margery smiled and said “at last”. She steadily climbed into the sleigh, a covering came around them so that they didn't get too cold, and after a jolt, they took off. After what seemed like a few minutes they arrived. She gently stepped off the sleigh, said goodbye and thank you to Santa and then took a deep breath- “Iceland, we meet at last”, she said.
Ahead of her, she could see a tree by the stream glowing, and she knew exactly what it was. She walked over, and knocked lightly on the door. Little hobbit man, Benjie, opened the door. He made almost a purring like sound as a grin took over his face, and took a step over so that Margie might come in. She took a seat by the fire and Benjie began brewing tea.
Years and years ago, Margie had dreamed of going to Iceland. Her favorite story she had read as a girl, took place there. There was no way she could ever afford to go, because her family was poor. Her mother gave her a case of needles for her birthday, and that was when Margery began to sew. She sewed and sewed, altering wedding gowns, crafting stockings for little boys and girls at Christmas time, and even making little sweaters for puppy dogs in the fall. One day, little hobbit man Benjie came in with nine pairs of pants that were way too long for him. She sewed them up, and when it came time to pay, Benjie handed her what he owed her, and a little sack of marbles. Margery had never played with marbles before, so Benjie taught her. One morning, Margery was reading the daily newspaper and saw an advertisement: “World's Greatest Marble Player in town! Beat Him and Win Tickets to Iceland!” it read.... to be continued.

Research Paper-Rococo Era

Art has traveled with us since ancient Minoan times, changing throughout the eras influenced by wars, politics, religions, technology, and the culture of the time in general. Through history classes, tours through art galleries and other museums, people learn about the eras progressing through time. However, because there are so many different eras, most people do not learn about all of the different art movements. One of the more uncommonly heard of is the Rococo era, which falls in between the Baroque and Neoclassical eras in the eighteenth century. This era represents the transition from the stern portrayal of the people of the Baroque time to to a more realistic and almost playful perspective of the lives lived in the early eighteenth century. This is essential to know in order to clearly see how the highly contrasted Baroque and Neoclassical periods are actually connected.

During the Baroque period, the art expressed characteristics of “overt rhetoric and dynamic movement.” It was not necessarily religious art, however it did represent the “self-confidence and proselytizing spirit of the reinvigorated Catholic Church”. In fact, it was said that the characteristics of the Baroque styles were applied to everything, except religion (Johnson, Mark). The color palette consists of bolder and rich colors, while the images themselves are very detailed and complex showing extreme contrasts of light and dark. The term “Baroque” comes from the word “barocco,” which means “rough pearl”. Initially, Baroque was used to “describe post-Renaissance architecture being unstructured, unornamented, theatrical, and grotesque.” For the artists of this time period, time was of great importance. They viewed time as “a measurable entity” where it uncovers the fallaciousness and allows the truth to come through and vindicate good over bad. The portraits of this era were “confined to royalty” and were to represent the “divine right” (Johnson, Mark). When viewers approached a Baroque portrait, they experienced a feeling of being looked down upon. An example of this is Self Portrait. In this piece by Francesco Salimena, the eyes appear to be looking at the viewers sternly as if they are of higher significance and disgusted at the sight of someone not in the line of royalty. Feelings brought upon by this piece is certainly not of happiness, but one could almost feel belittled. The subjects in the portraits portrayed pride for their positions through their gazes. In Stephen Davies' Responding Emotionally to Fictions, he states that “...emotions take intentional objects and are distinguished in terms of the beliefs one holds about them... A person's emotion-relevant beliefs connect to his or her desires and actions, of course.” (Davies 269) The divinity was seen as supremacy to all other earthly beings and this is how people felt looking at the Baroque pieces. Carl Einstein believed that the Baroque artists perceived their viewers as a participant in forming the pieces' effects. According to him, “the artist emphasized the viewer's visual activity and modeled in touches, so that the viewer himself would shape the actual form.” (Flam 31) The emphasis on the faces of royalty with bold colors involved the viewers in the pieces, automatically causing a similar affect on all of them in communicating the work to the viewers. After an amount of time, artists started to branch away from this type of communication to have a different affect on people. The era started to transform into one that caused a feeling of wonder and contentment as different subjects other than royalty were portrayed in mystique and playful atmospheres.

The Rococo era began to evolve in France in the early eighteenth century. In Italy, the artists were without any sort of artistic centre well into the 1860s. Italian artists were anxious to find any artistic opportunity and flocked to Paris to begin their search. When they arrived, they quickly began to conform to the Rococo genre painting practiced in Paris at the time. The Italian artists then took this budding style to other countries and helped to develop it in a way that made it distinguishably different from the style in Paris. The French Rococo had been far less decorative than the Italians transformed it to be. The style continued to spread and the Italians became known for leading the Rococo era throughout Europe (Igra).

The term “Rococo” is derived from the French word “Rocaille”, which means “rock-work after the forms of sea shells” (Collins). It was said that this century “considered painting, not sculpture, to be the highest level of visual art.” Several art critics viewed painting as empowering of the most grandeur amplification of the imagination belonging to the viewer (Brilliant 2). However, it took a series of time for the Rococo art to appeal to its viewers following such an opposite era. This turn in the century “encouraged a style essentially decorative and playful, refined and sensuous, feminine and optimistic.” It also had the “sombre and pessimistic tone of Naturalism” (Ireland).

At this point in time, women were still in the outward rims of social life. However, society soon began to evolve and women were ready to be heard. They wished to have an impact on politics, as well as science, and wanted to acquire an intellectual lifestyle. Women began to replace the men with their feminine features. The artists worked to bring into their paintings the “woman's beauty in ever new charms, to enhance its brilliance and elevate it to the ideal of human perfection”. This innovated portraying the women as “Goddess, Grace or Muse”. It came out to be “allegorical and mythological”. The divinity of the Baroque era was soon diminished and the “divine” exquisiteness of women took its place (Schonberger, Soechner 54). Allan Ramsay's Elizabeth Cunyngham, Mrs. Daniel Cunyngham is an example of the start to this new style. Her form is delicate and light, her face is slender and framed by carefully placed dark curls, and she is wearing a dress that gives off a sense of being airy and free. The popular words that descended from beauty were “gout,” “grace,” and “proportion” which can very easily be seen in this painting (Schonberger, Soechner 54). These words were much more important to an artist than trying to express any personality that the person may possess.

This appearance of these new portraits belonging to this era brought a different sort of reaction to its viewers. The faces were softer with kind-hearted smiles and at a glance seemed full of wit. The color palette differed from the Baroque era as well. It consisted of “delicate shades of silver, grey and reseda, pale blue, pink and white”. There was an extreme curvature involved in the pieces. The letters “C” and “S” were often seen in the pieces as base lines to get this curving effect. The proportions were described as “noble” and the faces soon became stereotypical and had a pleasant feel to them. Many of them were described as the “delights of spring” (Schonberger, Soechner 54). Marie Antoinette en Chemise by Madame Elisabeth-Louise Vigee-Lebrun demonstrates the use of flowers as decoration. She holds a single rose in her hand adding elegance to the portrait. Birds and bows were iconic to femininity and were incorporated into the pieces playing dominant roles in all of the Rococo movement. Soon the women were decorated in floral, because flowers were said to be the favored ornament of women. The hair of women became designed with several florets and sometimes the clothing was decorated with garlands to give it more of an elegant appearance.

A second style of Rococo portraits then began in the second half of the century. This started to transform under the change of the “new intellectual and spiritual trends”. Women were portrayed as domesticated rather than the mystical appearance as seen in earlier times. The education of women had grown a tremendous amount and they began to work as productive laborers. Families started to rely on the women to bring in contribution to support them financially. In these paintings, women were depicted sitting at sewing machines, holding books in their laps, or holding a straw hat on her head. It was also common for women to be seen laying their heads down on their husband's shoulders, or being in the midst of several children. “Family bliss, married harmony, domestic life and the joys of childhood” soon became themes that spread throughout Europe (Schonberger, Soechner 55). In this painting, The Eliot Famiy, Sir Joshua Reynolds displays the entire family. The children are seen playing or sitting like they would naturally do, the eldest members are sitting gracefully on the left side, the father figure is in the center, and the women are elegantly placed around the other figures. The dresses were simplified, both in the paintings and in women's fashion, from the previously high decoration and it appeared as a house dress. Simplicity had at this time became a special form of elegance.

The simple foundation prompted an eagerness for nature. It became popular to put people in their natural settings so that the relationship between them and their backgrounds could be established. “Ladies and gentlemen are seen descending the steps that lead from the door of their mansion into the surrounding park, walking in the garden, or gazing out over the fields and meadows of the English countryside”. Including landscapes to them was more like a theatrical
stage setting and was still considered decoration because of it (Schonberger, Soechner 55). Thomas Gainsborough often practiced including scenery in his paintings. In one piece that he completed, Portrait of Abel Moysey, Gainsborough placed Moysey on a rugged land next to what might be a forest. His inclusion of the scenery assisted in setting the tone of the piece by use of color, lighting and balance. Though the natural background painting started in the Rococo period, it was not very popular among the artists until the Romantic era.

Towards the end of the Rococo era new theme of child painting developed. During this age, grandparents lived with the children, father, and mother. There were no elderly homes for them to go too, so it was the child's responsibility to support them. Social security was non-existent, therefore the children played the part of being the family's social security. When artists painted a picture of a child, the child typically had a childish face, but was dressed like an adult and posed to show maturity like an adult has (Schonberger, Soechner 55). William Hogarth depicts The Graham Children wearing the adult-like clothing. The dressing actually accurately depicted the way children did dress. At a young age children were bound to tradesman to learn how to trade or take the position in some other profession. It was only the upper children who had the ability to go to college or to a university. The lowest class of children, particularly in Europe, were often left to fend for themselves. Pick pocketing and stealing from vendors in the marketplace just to get food was very common. The Rococo artists explored the child world. They focused on portraying the lives that children were supposed to live. Not as adults working in factories, but as explorers having fun. Hogarth begins to show this transformation here. Though the clothing is still above the children's age, the setting that they are in tells a different story. The young boy on the right and the baby girl on the left are both entranced by the birds fluttering about the bird cage. The facial expressions upon their faces are also of a joyful and playful manner. Soon, the attempt to portray children realistically in the world had fully developed. Little girls were portrayed as little princesses chasing after butterflies (Schonberger, Soechner 55). Thomas Gainsborough actually depicted this happening. In The Painter's Daughters, Margaret and Mary, Chasing Butterflies, his daughters are shown wearing clothes fit for their age. They are brightly colored with skirts that are not as full as most women wore in that time. The two girls run together holding hands, chasing after a butterfly- something that displayed the innocence and playfulness of children and was very typical for them to do. Children were finally placed in their realistic and natural settings. Along side of this last portion of the Rococo era in the ending quarter of the eighteenth century, the age of individualism was birthed bringing forth the Neoclassical era.

It began in England with designs created by the Palladians, who made up a group that was led by Earl of Burlington the third. A strong desire came upon the artists to paint a more truthful vision instead of the “ephemera of life”. So groups, such as the Palladians, travelled throughout Europe to capture the vital moments. The art had changed from the mythical, delicate and graceful paintings full of curvature, to a much more simple composition. In some cases it narrowed down to pieces consisting of only a few figures that stood in peaceful, static poses. These figures were typically derived from antique statues. Some of these artists made their money by “painting particular views for rich men coming to see the sights or some of the grand travelers in front of an imposing Ancient monument to prove that they had been there”. Some of the Nobles would call on painters such as Pompeo Batoni to be painted leaning against a great Antique work that could be easily recognized (Neoclassical Art and Architecture). This painting is done by Batoni and titled Swagger: Colonel the Hon William Gordon, where the Colonel can be seen proudly leaning against the statue. In other cases, the paintings remained very mythological but had usually had a moral point to it. An example of the more mythological paintings is Angelica Kauffman's Cherubs Sculpture. There, four cherub angels are diligently at work creating a sculpture of another cherub sculpture.

The eighteenth century Rococo art movement successfully captured the time period as it was happening, from family bliss to feminine beauty, to the world of children. Stephen Davies stated, “..we respond emotionally to scenarios that are hypothetical or counter factual as readily as to ones that are actual.” (Davies 271) These pieces of artwork left strong impacts on their viewers, especially because they could relate to what they were seeing. The Baroque paintings had left a negative affect with the portraits' harsh glances and pride. And the later Neoclassical era went back to painting higher status figures as well as mythological settings. With the Rococo paintings, however, there was a reaction more filled with joy. The color pallet was a long softer and lighter, and the forms were much more elegant and delicate. This era proved to have a positive impact and play an important role in history. It is essential that this era- the Rococo era, is never forgotten.


Rococo Sources


Batoni, Pompeo. Swagger: Colonel the Hon William Gordon. 01 Dec 2009.


Brilliant, Richard. "Antique Art: Continuity and Transformation." Source: Notes in the History of Art. 29.1 (2009): 2-7. Print.


Collins, Neal. "Rococo Art Style." Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art. 2009. Web.


Davies, Stephen. "Responding Emotionally to Fictions." Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 67.3 (2009): 269-284. Print.


Flam, Jack. "Carl Einstein and Metasculpture." Source: Notes in the History of Art. 29.1 (2009): 31-34. Print.


Gainsborough, Thomas. The Painter's Daughters, Margaret and Mary, Chasing Butterflies. About 1756. 01 Dec 2009.


Gainsborough, Thomas. Portrait of Abel Moysey M.P. c. 1771. 01 Dec 2009.

Hogarth, William. The Graham Children. c. 1732. 01 Dec 2009.

Igra, Caroline. "Reviving the Rococo: Enterprising Italian Artists in Second Empire Paris." Art History 28.3 (2005): 340-356. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.

Ireland, K. R. "Aspects of Cythera: Neo-Rococo at the Turn of the Century."

Modern Language Review 70.4 (1975): 721-730. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 2
Nov. 2009.


Johnson, Mark. "Learn About Baroque Art, View Famous Artists and their Famous Paintings." Art History. Web. 11 Nov 2009.


Kauffmann, Angelica. Cherubs Sculpture. 02 Dec 2009.


Ramsay, Allan. Elizabeth Cunyngham, Mrs Daniel Cunyngham. c. 1740. 02 Dec 2009.


Reynolds, Sir Joshua. The Eliot Family. c. 1746. 01 Dec 2009.


Salimena, Francesco. Self Portrait. c. 1715. Uffizi, Florence. 01 Dec 2009.


Schonberger, Arno, and Halldor Soechner. The Rococo Age. New York: McGraw Hill, 1960. Print.

Vigee-Lebrun, Madame Elisabeth-Louise. Marie Antoinette en Chemise. c. 1783. 01 Dec 2009.


"Neoclassical Art and Architecture." 2009. History.com. 11 Nov 2009. Web.

Homework Writing-Between Art and Architecture

This piece, Between Art and Architecture, was a very touching, inspiring, and very enjoyable to read. It really emphasizes on the differences in thoughts and intentions between, in this matter, artists and politicians. Maya Lin had a vision. Her vision was not one to appeal to the public in a people-pleaser stance. Rather her vision was to recognize those who were lost and those who experienced the Vietnam War. Her plan was simple, elegant, and just enough to let veterans know they are appreciated and remind those of all who were lost. It was very down to earth, considerably straight forward, but held a power that showered awe and brought tears to everyone who entered.

The politicians wanted to change the dynamic and effective design that was specifically selected, to this big and thick stoned wall that displayed all of the names placed at random. On one hand, this would have been a quick and easy to do process, but the project was not the least bit about time. It was about thought, appreciation and giving back to people who were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country. The politicians even went to the extent of putting “The addition of the statue of infantrymen and then the addition of the female statue to make them equal.” That makes me feel that their intent was more for publicity then recognition. Pleasing viewers in a way that makes them all feel equal was not the point. Families and veterans don't care anything about two statues representing both genders. It was about the veterans themselves. And the fact that Maya Lin's race, gender, age or any of that was brought up is heart breaking, but I hear of that happening quite often. I consider that to be hypocritical-wanting to put the male and female statues dominantly in the entrance when they discriminated against Maya Lin pretty much as a whole.

Lin held firmly to what she wanted which was the best representation for the memorial. I find it hopeful that Lin kept to what she wanted. She fought and reasoned and kept her head held high. And even though her designs for this memorial was built almost exactly like she wanted around the intended location, from this essay, she did not seem like it was something she was overly prideful of or boastful about. In the end, Maya Lin visited the structure, and was more like a visitor rubbing her fingers across the carved name of a loved one, just like everyone else.

Critiquing Blink

Malcolm Gladwell's Blink is a factual yet interesting book written around a theory pertaining to the human mind being able to do what is called thin-slicing. Thin-slicing is the ability to make a snap judgement or to take the knowledge you have stored in the back of your brain and put it together to quickly make an assumption or a predictability only seconds before it happens. Gladwell does this in Blink through a large variety of factual happenings. He introduces us to different tests and studies performed as well as experiences of thin-slicing from several different cases.

To some people, Blink may seem too repetitive as it stays around the same topic throughout its entire book. In my opinion, Blink was very interesting. The topic was unusual, but relevant to all of humanity. I believe that Gladwell's use of so many different topics supported his theory, and therefore convinced me to agree with what he was trying to communicate even more.

Each chapter in Blink covers a different topic and includes a different study. These topics cover a very wide range of cases where a person, or persons, has thin-sliced in one way or another. I believe every person could relate to at least one or more of these examples, and find others intriguing. The book starts off with identifying a statue, or a Kouros, that seemed identical to an original, but a passionate professional on the subject discovered it to be a fake within a moment of entering the room and glancing at the statue. That was particularly interesting to myself as an artist. There was also a test performed in college dormitories where information was gathered from a roommate's belongings before meeting, which most college students have done before. A few examples with sports were used as well, such as the tennis and baseball examples. I feel like, because it covered such a broad range, it reaches out to just about any audience age. I do not believe it is like a children's book, but a late elementary age student and on could really enjoy the book. Elderly men and women could probably relate more to the examples it gives, having more experience and seeing more throughout life. And all ages in between could do the same and learn a great deal more.

There were also the different examples of tests that had been taken. There was one chapter that informed the reader about an experiment on actually sitting down and taking a test. One example discussed in this chapter was how our minds think differently depending on what we have done right before taking a test. Another example given was how it can alter our thinking when taking a test if it asks for ethnicity right before. A few tests were included for the reader to take. I believe this was a clever idea to really engage the reader. This was also an easy way for the reader to compare his or her results to what Gladwell was saying other results had said.

Only a few times did I ever find Blink to be a little boring. For the most part it was captivating for me. The times I did find it a little slow only lasted for a short while. The book was packed with legos, but also had a really good amount of ethos. It was point obvious that Gladwell did his research on the topic, giving him a lot of credibility and making the reader feel like Gladwell knew what he was talking about. At some points the book was also drawing in with its ethos. In the last chapter, there was a story about a few officers who shot and killed an innocent man because of a snap judgement that was incorrect.

Gladwell's use of both good results and bad results of thin-slicing also contributed to making Blink a pretty well-rounded piece. It provides us with the positive and negative effects that makes Gladwell's concept more realistic. He never states whether he believes that thin-slicing is a good or bad thing either, he simply wrote the book to inform us about it. I believe that because of this, controversy is avoided with whether or not Blink is credible and would be suggested to others to read.

The conclusion to Gladwell's Blink was disappointing. It was more of a sudden stop to the book rather than wrapping up the ending nicely. It seemed to continue on another example of a time when thin-slicing was used and then it ended just a few sentences later. The conclusion was later extended to the afterward. They say though, that you should always have just as strong of a closing as the opening. When it is not, then it can weaken the piece as a whole. That is what it did too. It left the readers thinking that the ending was a waste. Gladwell should have put more care or effort into it.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink. He had a very good amount of information and support that captured the readers' attention and interested them on this unusual subject. It was brilliant of him to include so much research, because if he had not, then I do not believe the selling of his book would be nearly as successful. We could see that Gladwell cared a lot about this subject and he carefully constructed this piece of work. I would recommend this book to others and I am interested in reading other Malcolm Gladwell pieces now.