Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Joy of Reading and Writing

"The words inside a paragraph worked together for a common purpose.  They had some specific reason for being inside the same fence.  This knowledge delighted me.  I began to think of everything in terms of paragraphs." 

When I first read the story I read it pretty quickly.  I didn't put much thought into this statement.  But the second time around, I found myself looking at my desk and before I knew it I had turned it into an essay.  The cup that holds my pens, the color of the pens , the tips of the pens.  I couldn't help but to chuckle.  Then I continued to break up everything in my office in the same way.  I am not sure that it will help me write better, but it is entertaining to do.
I did find that by "using this logic", my drive to work this morning was full of paragraphs.  I had never thought of looking at things in the sense of how they related, if they were in an essay.  I had fun with it for most of my day.  I remember my brother teaching me chess as a child, and supermarket tiles as being a giant chess board, with pieces making their way down the bread isle.  To funny. I  had fun reading and writing about this story.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Benjamin,
    I like the quote that you chose. Everytime I read it, it makes me feel like a little child fascinted by a whole new world that has just been discover.
    Estela

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  2. Hi Benjamin,

    I like the quote too. It's my favorite explanation of a paragraph. I love the way Alexie describes prose through analogy and metaphor. He's able to highlight the relationships within an essay and a paragraph brilliantly.

    Thanks for sharing your insights!

    Lauren

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  3. Hey Benjamin,

    I remember reading that quote and thinking to myself- self don't start putting everything into paragraphs and/or essays or you'll go crazy. I succeeded for a couple of hours until an assignment I was doing for Pol. Sci made me thing of the Indians and then to Sherman's writing and sure enough as soon as I took a break from my assignment I was creating paragraphs out of watching my 4 mo. old girl bellowing unrecognizable noises, how was she learning? would she be more like mom or me? Whats her future style?Her first word, her favorite color, and by the time 5 minutes had passed I had a mini autobiography in my head about her. It was kind of crazy but totally fun too.

    Thanks!

    EStrang

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