Wuthering Heights Post #14: Symbolism

I saw reoccurring symbolism throughout the novel. Both of the symbols I saw represented either despair or sadness. Symbols are important because it is an easier way to represent something big in something smaller. Symbols are often overlooked, but I saw a few.

The first symbol is Wurthering Heights. The house represents darkness and despair. Heathcliff has had few up's and many down's in that house. It is the place that Heathcliff loved and lost. It is the place that he sees the ghost of his love, Catherine, as well. It is a place filled with the sad live and the angry revenge plots of Heathcliff. The servants even seem to wallow in its gloominess. Wuthering Heights is also characterized by the weather. It was rather windy at first. Then, the next time Lockwood returned, there was a horrible snowstorm. Therefore, Wuthering Heights represents despair and darkness.

Another symbol is the ghosts. The ghost of Catherine represents the lost love and sadness. Whenever the ghost is seen, Heathcliff is miserably saddened. The ghost also represents the end because death is the end. Heathcliff knows he will never be with Catherine until he dies. So this brings on more sadness as well. The ghosts in the novel often appear at times when people are uncomfortable and disappointed. The first time Catherine appeared, she grabbed Mr. Lockwood's arm when he was uncomfortable in the room. Heathcliff was disappointed before Catherine appeared because his revenge will not continue. The ghost definitely show up at inconvenient times! They obviously represent sadness, too!

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print

Wurthering Heights Post #13: Rhetoric Devices Used

There are a few rhetoric devices used in the novel that were hard to find within the novel. Alliteration is used in some of chapters for a minimal effect in the story. In chapter two, Bronte uses alliteration to describe the snow falling: "the first feathery flakes of a snow-shower". The alliteration is used just to enhance the reading experience. Another use of alliteration I saw was in chapter seven: "fingers wonderfully whitened with doing nothing and staying indoors.". This was a small use of alliteration used to enhance reading once again.

Another rhetoric device used in the novel Wurthering Heights by Emily Bronte is personification. I found this part of a sentence in chapter twenty-seven: "every breath from the hills so full of life, that it seemed whoever respired it, though dying, might revive.". Hills cannot breath, so it is an example of personification. This was used to give the hills some personality. I only spotted this example of personification in the novel, although I am sure there were more.

I also saw one more rhetoric device used in the novel. A simile stood out to me in the eighteenth chapter: "after the first six months, she grew like a larch". This was used to tell the readers how she was growing.

Rhetoric devices are very important for an author to use to enhance the readers experience.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wurthering Heights Post #12: Author's Tone

An author has the authority to write with tone, an attitude. In the novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte uses few tones in the story. At first, Bronte seems to be dwelling in the story of lost love and wasted passion between Catherine and Heathcliff. It is rather dark and bitter in the beginning of the story. The author seems cynical. She is only focusing on the negative and bad things happening in the story. I did not like the first third of the novel because of the dark and edgy writing styles. It made me pity the doomed lovers and made me feel gloomy.

Towards the end of the novel, Bronte's tone seemed to become slighty more positive. She seemed to change view on the subject. She no longer seemed cynical and gloomy to the lost love and passion shared by the two lovers. Bronte's tone was sanguine! She looked at Heathcliff's soon death as a reunion between the lost hearts. The lost part was almost like a fresh start for Catherine and Heathcliff as they venture into the after life together. Also, the new married couple Catherine Linton and Hareton can share their love the way Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw never could.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wuthering Heights Post #11: Coflict and Climax

The conflict is the problem facing the Characters in the story. In Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, the conflict starts between Heathcliff and Catherine. They both love each other, but Catherine marries another man. Therefore, Heathcliff seeks revenge on those who tore the lovers apart. Thus, the conflict is made between Heathcliff and the ones who hurt him. The conflict is external because the main character is being effected by outside forces. The conflict is between Heathcliff and Hindley Earnshaw and Edgar Linton. Both of those men did not want Catherine to be with Heathcliff. Hindley made her learn different values when she hurt her ankle and was forced to stay inside. Linton, married her and ended Heathcliff's chances with being happy with her. Hence, Heathcliff seeks cruel revenge on the ones who tried to mess up his already hard life.

The climax is the highest point of action in a novel. I believe the climax was when Catherine died during birth. When she died, Heathcliff lost his reason for revenge, but he still seeked it. When she died the story became less determined by Heathcliff to get her back, and more determined to just make Edgar Linton and Hindley Earnshaw's lives miserable.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wuthering Heights Post #10: Minor Character Overviews

Edgar Linton is still major in the story, but he is not the main character. Linton marry Catherine because she values class more then true love. Linton is well manner and a gentlemen. He looks like a coward when he says he would be afraid of fighting Heathcliff due to their rivalry. However, Heathcliff still carries out his revenge on this character, but not through Linton's daughter, Catherine Linton.

Nelly starts as a servant for Mr. Lockwood. After Lockwood's ordeal at Wuthering Heights, he asks her about the past of the mysterious place and the inhabitants. She narrates a great deal of the story and tells Lockwood of the bitter romance of Heathcliff and Catherine. She grew up with them as a young servant, but seems to care for them the way she personally narrates the story.

Mr. Lockwood is the whole reason the story of Wuthering Heights is uncovered. He makes a visit to his landlord, Heathcliff, for a dinner. He ends up staying the night because of a bad snowstorm and stays in the Wuthering Heights household. The ghost of Catherine, Heathcliff's love, stirs him up and makes him ask Nelly the story of Wuthering Heights. He later returns to Wuthering Heights to wrap up the novel.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wuthering Heights Post #9: Main Character Overviews

The main character was Heathcliff. He lived in the gloomy house of Wuthering Heights. He was the landlord of Lockwood as well. He has dark eyes and dark skin like a "gypsy". He was adopted by Mr. Earnshaw and raised by him as well. He was in love with Catherine Earnshaw. Her brother Hindley did not like him very much. Hindley did not want Catherine to love Heathcliff. Therefore, he tried to keep them apart, and it worked. Heathcliff grew bitter as the they could not be together. Catherine married Linton and Heathcliff turned angry. He was so consumed by his emotions he sought revenge on all those who sabotaged his relationship with Catherine. He did not realize that getting revenge on all of those people did not help him live easier.

Catherine grew up with Heathcliff. They were inseparable when they were young, and they fell i love. However, Catherine injured her ankle one day, and had to stay inside while being taught things a proper lady should know. When she learned all these new rules to life, she sought a husband of higher class then Heathcliff. She married Edgar Linton. He was much more classier then Heathcliff in Catherine's eyes. She still loves Heathcliff and is rather emotional about it. She often seems torn between the two men she is conflicted with. Her short life come to an end when she gives birth to her daughter, Catherine Linton.

Wurthering Heights Post #8: Novel reflecting History

The novel Wurthering Heights by Emily Bronte reflects history rather accurately. In the time frame this book was written in, social class was very important. Who you married would determine your social status and other things. That is the reason that Catherine married Linton. She wanted to be accepted socially, so she married a wealthier and more respected man then Heathcliff. Heathcliff was lower class for a few reasons. He was an orphan, so he was not in complete relation to the Earnshaw, though most considered him to be. He was darker skinned. This was not completely approved of by others, so he was lower class to his peers. He was not properly educated in a few things. This lead to him being lower class as well. Catherine valued class so she did not marry Heathcliff though she loved him dearly.

There was more discrimination back then against women as well that was recognized by the author, as well. When Mr. Earnshaw died, Hindley inherited the estate because he was the oldest male child. When Hindley died, Heathcliff inherited it because women did not earn property in this time frame of the novel. They were not fit to earn it people thought. They also did not have the same education as men. They were taught manners and etiquette unlike men who learned school subjects.

Another social class issue was between servants and their boss. Heathcliff did not treat his staff in the best of ways. He grew very upset with Zillah at the start of the novel for not leading Mr. Lockwood to the right room. He treated her pretty badly. This was a small social issue not recognized too much in the novel.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wurthering Heights Post #7: Author's Techniques

The author uses suspense in the novel to keep the reader attentive. The reader must keep reading because they want to know what happens next. Bronte tells the long tale of the love story between Catherine and Heathcliff that never quite works out. The reader keeps reading to see what interesting event will happen next. At first, the lovers life is well. When Hindley takes over their lives, however, things complicate. The readers must keep reading to see how complicated things get before they can work out. However, they soon find out things do not work, and it is a bitter ending to the love story. With suspense, comes mystery. Mr. Lockwood was curious about the house of Wurthing Heights, so he called upon Nelly to tell him the history of it. The mystery of the story is basically the suspense of wondering what happens next. Symbolism also plays a small role in the novel. I believe the house of Wurthing Heights to be a symbol because it symbolizes Heathcliff's past: dreary , disturbed, and sorrowful. Another symbol that is used a few times is the symbol of a ghost. This symbol represents sorrow and sadness. Before Heathcliff dies, he talks to the ghost of Catherine. This symbolizes his sadness of her death, and the sadness of his death as well. Heathcliff was ready to die and reunite with Catherine, however. A positive note, that can satisfy the reader who kept reading because of the mystery and suspense.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wurthering Heights Post #6: Why is the Novel Timeless?

The novel Wurthering Heights is indeed timeless. But why? We still read it today because of it's heartbreaking message of love and revenge. The two lovers, Heathcliff and Catherine, believe that they are supposed to be together forever when they are young. However, fate has a different plan. The two are ripped apart by social standards and people who oppose their relationship. This story is timeless because the darkness and disturbing fates of the characters. You can still learn to not seek revenge and it is better to have lost and loved, then to never love at all.

Heathcliff is timeless because he is the most effected by the conflict throughout the novel. He is bitter, angry, yet sad what his life has become. His revenge consumes him and he sets out to destroy the lives of the people who destroyed his. His brutal human savageness towards those people make him relate-able to the common reader who has ever felt jealousy or anger. When he was young however, he was happy and in love. I think that the transformation the character endured from happy and in love to hopeless and vengeful also makes him timeless. Catherine is also timeless because she is one of the main reasons for Heathcliff's sad life. When young, she befriended the oddball Heathcliff. She soon fell in love with him, but then grew to value different things as she was being educated on manners and etiquette. She then married a man of high class and died giving birth. She is timeless because she is sought after by Heathcliff throughout the whole novel, but is never acquired by him. That is what makes these characters timeless.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wuthering Heights Post #5: Behavioral and Social Issues + Symbolic and Thematic Significance

The reader can tell right away what differences a book with a different time setting has from the present day. In the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, there are a considerable amount of historical, behavioral, and social issues. First off, I saw some behavioral issues. During that time frame, people were much more well behaved and polite. Heathcliff invited Lockwood to dinner. Most landlords, today, would just meet their tenants and be done with them. However, Heathcliff did the polite thing and invited Lockwood. A few social issues I saw, of course, involved Catherine's marriage to Linton. Catherine married him because of his class and wealth. If Catherine would have married Heathcliff, she would be lower class and she saw that as unacceptable.

This book symbolizes few things. It symbolizes how heartbreak can end up. You can end up spiteful and vengeful like Heathcliff. It also symbolizes that revenge can not heal your emotional wounds. When Heathcliff died, he was not happier with how his plots of revenge turned out. The thematic significance is not much different from the symbolism of the book. Revenge is not the answer, love is hard to maintain, whatever themes you can gather from the novel is significant. Personally, I though the theme of revenge is not the answer as the novel's theme significance. I do not think hurting others because you hurt is a plausible solution.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wuthering Heights Post #4: Hero?

Honestly, it seems to me that there is no hero located in the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Every character seems to be very selfish and viciously cruel at most times. I finally decided to consider the main character in the story "a hero". Therefore, if I must choose a character to be a hero it would be Heathcliff. Poor Heathcliff is a fortune's fool and turns bitter after a while. He is somewhat of an "evil" hero. He is a revenge seeking, hopless romantic who cannot forgive and forget. His accomplishments are carrying out his plots of revenge on Linton and Hindley, who made him lose his love, Catherine. Heathcliff is not a conventional hero considering his deed are much less then heroic. He seems more like a villain, but he was driven to be spiteful with the loss of his love. I believe Heathcliff would have been a hero is his life turned out the way he had planned, but instead, fate was against him. Instead, he is an evil hero who is selfish and cruel to his enemies. Heartbroken Heathcliff could have been a respectable hero, but instead, he turned into an evil and cruel man.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wuthering Heights Post #3: Theme and Human Nature

The theme of this novel is love that is constantly put through challenges, will be near impossible to maintain. Although Heathcliff and Catherine always truly love each other, Catherine would rather have someone of more class and more financial security. This is a universal theme because many people can relate to Catherine and to Heathcliff in the situation.. Their love also endures the early ridicules of Hindley. The two lover's get separated and Catherine changes. They still love each other, but their relationship is not well maintained.

Emily Bronte interpreted human nature really well. She knows that it is in human nature to seek revenge. Human's are unstable when betrayed by their peers. Therefore she knows that Heathcliff may be sympathized with for wanting revenge because he is only human. Also, she knows that Catherine would choose money over love because that is a mistake humans would make since they would like to be more secure in life. Hindley is also a victim of human nature because he does not take kindly to Heathcliff, whom his family seems to love more then him. Obviously, Emily Bronte did a wonderful job when it came to making her characters with common humanly instincts. Since all her characters make many mistakes because of their human nature, they are understood by all readers.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wuthering Heights Post #2: Causes, Gains, and Losses

In Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, there are countless gains and loses with many different causes dealing with the climax. One huge lose occurs between Cathy and Heathcliff. Heathcliff overhears Cathy agreeing to marry Linton. Heathcliff loses Cathy to Linton because Cathy agrees to marry Linton. Another huge loss is when Catherine Earnshaw gives birth to Catherine Linton and dies because of the labor of giving birth. Linton and Heathcliff lose Cathy because she died giving birth. There are many sad loses throughout the novel.

Some gains in Wuthering Heights were hard to find since this book was very full of misfortune. However, there of actually many gains. One gain is, Hareton Earnshaw, finds love with Cathy Linton instead of turning out bitter and angry like Heathcliff. The cause of this gain is when Cathy agrees to teach Linton to read. If she would have refused to help, they would have never fallen in love. Another gain is when Heathcliff decided not to carry out his revenge against the young Cathy and Hareton. The cause of this gain is the face of Heathcliff's love Catherine Earnshaw appearing in the faces of the young kids. He could not seek revenge because of the constant reminders of his lost love. There are many gains among the loses in the novel.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Wuthering Heights Post #1: Author's Attitude and Values

The writing in Wuthering Heights reveals many facts about the author, Emily Bronte. The author has an attitude or tone that seems earnest and in some parts awestruck. Bronte is always leading the characters into new findings. She also always stays on the story line which makes her seem focused. Her attitude also seems to be harsh because the way Heathcliff is so keen to seek revenge on all those who seperated him from Catherine. Bronte also understands human nature and the complex relationships that get broken by reality.

Bronte's values are seem to be through relationships. Bronte values love obviously because she writes about it so intensely. The love Heathcliff has for Catherine never dies therefore he has to make those pay who interfered, so I bet Bronte valued this. I think Bronte also values fairness. The way Hindley treated Heathcliff was very unfair. Also, Heathcliff treated many people unfairly when he grew older. The way Bronte made people so cruel makes me think she wants people not to act this way, so she wrote it in her novel so they know the effects of acting this way. Therefore, she made her characters so cynical to teach the readers that revenge and cruelty will not make your life better, in fact, it wiill make it worse.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.

Why Read the Classics Post #8: My Final Reaction

I honestly like "Why Read the Classics?" a lot more the "Good Readers and Good Writers". One reason was the authors tone. Calvino was kind and intellectual. Nabokov was slightly offensive and forceful with his views. My reaction to Calvino's essay was more logical then emotional. I now know many different ways to view classic novels. I know that it's okay if I do not understand them since they were written in different time frames. Calvino said young readers might understand when they are older. Calvino also said you should learn something new when re-reading novels, especially classic works of literature. My logical understanding of classics will now be better because this essay help me broaden my logical understanding of novels. I hope my new logical outlook on classic novels will help me interpret the meaning of the books I am reading this summer, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. I also discovered that when a reader finishes a novel, they either oppose the novel, or they like the novel. I know this is true because Calvino loved most of the novels he has read, and negative Nabokov disliked the best-selling important novels. Therefore, I had a very logical reaction to the essay "Why Read the Classics?".

Bibliography! :
Calvino, Italo. "Why Read the Classics." The Uses of Literature. New York: Vintage Books, 1999

Why Read the Classics Post #7: The Author's authority

The authors have so many decisions to make when writing an essay or novel. They have to decide characters, plot, setting, climax, thesis, and point of view. The authors have a duty is to decide on what to do, and that is called authority. Since this is an informational essay, Calvino did not have to decide on setting or characters. In "Why Read the Classics?", Calvino basically had three things to decide on: plot, thesis, and point of view. Calvino made the plot almost exactly like the title. The plot in the essay was to explain to readers why they should read a classic novel. The plot was easy to figure out because of the title of the essay. Calvino also had the authority to decide on the thesis. The thesis is a lot alike the plot, except it is more specific. The thesis was one should read the classics because the literature always stays relevant to your life and new discoveries about the literature can always be revealed. Calvino, however, had the authority to make the decision of not making the thesis direct to the reader, therefore he made the thesis implicit. A last decision made by Calvino was the point of view. The essay was first person. This was a good decision by Calvino because you can see the author has a good tone, and you can connect to the essay on a more personal level. Therefore, the authority the author has is over many aspects and parts of the essay.

Bibliography! :
Calvino, Italo. "Why Read the Classics." The Uses of Literature. New York: Vintage Books, 1999

Why Read the Classics Post #6: Introduction and Conclusion Analysis

In the essay "Why Read the Classics?" I consider the whole first chapter to be the introduction. Therefore, the introduction is obviously organized through a method called: defining a word or phrase. The word that this whole essay is about is the word being defined. Of course, that word is classic. However it is not the actual word, it is meant to be defined as a classic work of literature. Calvino surrounds the whole introduction around defining what a classic work of literature is so that his readers will know what to expect in the rest of the body of the essay. I think this is a strong way to open the essay because the reader will start of knowing on the definition of a classic novel, so they will want to keep reading.

Much like the other essay "Good Readers and Good Writers" the conclusion in this essay is not much. The essay wraps up by talking about Tolstoy, a Russian author. The conclusion says fullness in life is valued by Tolstoy, and he often though outside the box. That is my interpretation of this section of the last sentence "what counts in Tolstoy is what is not visible, not articulated, what could exist but does not." I think the conclusion is not big enough to be characterized by that much. However, if I have to try to characterize it, I believe it is wrapping up the classic author and his abstract beliefs and how they relate to life.

Bibliography! :
Calvino, Italo. "Why Read the Classics." The Uses of Literature. New York: Vintage Books, 1999

Why Read the Classics Post #5: Essay Organization

Organization is very important to the composition of an acceptable essay. Good writers organize their essays to flow strongly and convoy the message of the essay so it is not complicated to understand. There are a lot of good ways to organize essays. There is chronological, functional, spatial, and logical. I think this essay is organized through spatial organization. I was torn between logical and spatial because at first, Calvino was giving the reader definitions and directing the readers in ways that might get them to read classic works of literature. Though sometime, it seems like Calvino is arguing with others to explain why classic works of literature should be read. However Calvino never argues, he just tries to convince readers to look into classics. Therefore since the author was not arguing strongly, so I decided on spatial organization. In the first few pages of the essay, the author defines what exactly a classic work of fiction is. Definitions are part of the layout spatial organization. However, Calvino does not only define things in the contents of the first few pages. He keeps defining things like the writings of Charles Dickens and such. Therefore, the author maintains spatial organization throughout this whole essay.


Bibliography! :
Calvino, Italo. "Why Read the Classics." The Uses of Literature. New York: Vintage Books, 1999

Fleming, Grace. "Essay Organization Patterns." About.com. About.com, 2011. Web. 24 July 2011. .

Why Read the Classics Post #4: Attention Grabber

The sections of "Why Read the Classics" by Italo Calvino that captured my attention was the few pages. I liked the way Calvino set definitions for his readers that defined what a classic work of literature was. These definitions help me set perimeters that let me decide what is a classic, from what is not a classic. There were fourteen definitions that were all about defining a classic novel from a regular novel. A few thing I learned were that classics should have mystery discovered with every re-read. I also learned that you cannot be indifferent to a classic. You either are opposed to it or you like it. My reaction to these definitions was logical. I never suspected so many thing could go into the task of sorting classic works of literature from regular works of literature. I also though I should change my style of thinking when it comes to classic novels because I might not fully understand them because of their back round and when they were written. Calvino said that many young people, like myself, do not know how to interpret a novel because of the time frame it was written in. So hopefully my reactions to this essay help me further read classic novels like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.

Bibliography! :
Calvino, Italo. "Why Read the Classics." The Uses of Literature. New York: Vintage Books, 1999

Why Read the Classics Post #3: Rhetorical Devices

The definition of rhetoric is the art or study of using language effectively and persuasively. Therefore an author uses rhetorical devices to help create a better literary effect on readers. Much like the other essay I read "Good Reader and Good Writers" one rhetorical devices used in this essay that I noticed right away was tautology, repetition of an idea in a different word, phrase, or sentence. I think this is a common rhetoric device used in informative essays. The repetition I kept noticing in "Why Read the Classics" was something can be discovered everytime you read or re-read a classic. There are many definitions Calvino mentioned that contained this repetition. "4. A classic is a book which with each rereading offers as much of a sense of discovery as the first reading", "5. A classic is a book which even when we read it for the first time gives the sense of rereading something we have read before" , and "6. A classic is a book which has never exhausted all it has to day to its readers". All those definitions Calvino provided to his readers suggest reading and rereading yet familiar, give a sense of something new waiting to be discovered. Although I am sure there are more rhetorical devices, I must wrap up this blog.

Bibliography! :
Calvino, Italo. "Why Read the Classics." The Uses of Literature. New York: Vintage Books, 1999

Why Read the Classics Post #2: Author's Tone

The tone of an author can turn off an audience, or impress them. It is vital for an author to make his or her tone clear so the reader can interpret their views and values. The author, Italo Calvino, has a well established tone in his essay "Why Read the Classics?". His tone sounds understanding and intelligent. He seems genuinely interested on informing the readers of the classic literature. The way Calvino compliments authors and literary works such as Charles Dickens and the Odyssey shows that Clavino sincerely believes you should pay attention to "the classics". When I compare Calvino's tone to Nabokov's tone, I see an enormous difference. Nabokov did not seem to appreciate other authors work. Nabokov almost seemed harsh when judging other author's work. Calvino however admires the classics Nabokov seems to dislike. I enjoy reading Calvino's essay because his tone is not judgmental, but instead it is applauding the esteemed and talented authors. Calvino stills makes his point of writing the novel clear. He does not go off track or his topic which shows he is putting effort into his work. This another good attribute to his tone. Therefore, I am a fan of Italo Calvino's kind and intellegent tone.

Bibliography! :
Calvino, Italo. "Why Read the Classics." The Uses of Literature. New York: Vintage Books, 1999

Why Read the Classics Post #1: Thesis

"Why Read the Classics" by Italo Calivino is obviously about reading and appreciating classic literature. The thesis of this essay revolves around numbered "rules" about reading classic literature. Calvino does not define the specific thesis in the essay. Therefore, I gathered the information up to make a thesis. The thesis I made is one should read the classics because the literature always stays relevant to your life and new discoveries about the literature can always be revealed. This thesis is implicit because the author does not define his thesis in words. The reader must expose their own thesis within the indirect words of the author. In retrospect, the reader must see beyond the points and themes to gather a thesis that the author has hidden in the essay. I found the thesis in between the lines. The reader has to search for it in this essay because the author does not make the thesis absolutely clear. The author probably wanted audiences to think about the thesis by not defining it in his own words. I bet the author, also, did that because a good reader must be challenged to make a thesis through an essay that does not make the thesis obvious.

Bibliography! :
Calvino, Italo. "Why Read the Classics." The Uses of Literature. New York: Vintage Books, 1999

Good Readers and Good Writers Analysis: Post #8

My reaction to this essay is logical. I learned some new aspects and methods about reading and writing. This will improve my intellect when writing and reading. At first I did not like the author's tone. I thought he was arrogant and a know-it-all. However, I read it a few more times and knew that the author was just trying to educate the audience. I think this essay was complicated, too.There were also moments when I was reading the essay when I did not understand what the author was saying. However, once again, I re-read it like Nabokov suggested and understood it more. I am not a huge fan of this essay because it lacks personal connection. It was not emotional, so I though it was pretty boring. If I liked more informative essays it would be better and easier to read for me. I did not have an emotional reaction to this essay because it did not have any personal connections to me. I felt as if it was an essay strictly about improving audience education. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is not my favorite thing to read for recreation. However, it is a good essay to read when in school.

Bibliography! :
Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lectures on Literature. New York: Plurabelle Books, 1946

Good Readers and Good Writers Analysis: Post #7

The authority of an author is the decisions he or she makes. The author can decide things like the plot, the setting, the characters, and other elements of the paper. Nabokov chose things like the point of view and the thesis. Nabokov decided to make this essay a first person point of view. He could use words like I, my, and mine. He shared his personal opinions from his point of view. I bet he chose first person view so he could make his points stronger by personally stating them. He had authority and decided to make his essay slightly more personal by making the point of view first person. He had authority over the thesis as well. He decided to make the thesis about reading and writing. Not only is the thesis about reading and writing, but it gets more specific by being about improving on reading and writing. The thesis also goes into another big decision. The plot is probably the most important decision the author makes. Nabokov made the decision to compose an essay about instructing people on good reading and writing. Nabokov had authority on all aspects of his paper and he made good decisions for the most part.

Bibliography! :
Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lectures on Literature. New York: Plurabelle Books, 1946

Good Readers and Good Writers Analysis: Post #6

There are plenty of ways to organize an introduction. In "Good Readers and Good Writers" the way Vladimir Nabokov organized his introduction was by the commonly used Quotation method. However it was not that common the way he used it. In the small introduction paragraph Nabokov constructed he used three sets of quotations. One quotation, however, stands out. "What a scholar one might be if one knew well only some half a dozen books." He uses this quote to explain the more you know, the better off you will be. This quote was made by a European man, Flaubert, to his mistress. This quote opens up the discussion of being a good scholar, thus being good at reading and writing. I believe that this is the only organization method used in the introduction.

The conclusion is characterized in a not so conventional way. The long conclusion focused more on good writing instead of wrapping up the important thesis. I did not see good reading skill mentioned that strongly or even at all! The main part of the lengthy conclusion is the three key points about writing. I think that it is not characterized very well because a conclusion is supposed to tie the loose ends of the essay together. Instead, it just wraps up the section of good writing in the essay.

Bibliography! :
Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lectures on Literature. New York: Plurabelle Books, 1946

Good Readers and Good Writers Analysis: Post #5

Organization is crucial to a good essay. Good writers organize their essays to flow strongly and make the message of the essay easy to understand. There are a lot of good ways to organize essays. There is chronological, functional, spatial, and logical. For this essay, I thought it could be logical because he is making somewhat of an argument, but I decided on spatial organization since the essay gives directions about improving on reading and writing to the audiences. Nabokov begins by explaining how to be a good reader. He gives directions on how to do so. One example of his directions on becoming a good reader is on the second page of the essay. There is a list in which he picks out four key things to being a good reader. These are somewhat directions to follow to becoming a good reader. He then progresses into talking about being a good writer. His directions on becoming a good writer are similar to the directions on reading. He talks about some key things about writing. These sound like guidelines or directions about becoming better at writing. Therefore, the organization is well done on this essay because the two subjects relate to each other and the thesis. I also concluded the spatial organization because it gives directions to the readers.

Bibliography! :
Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lectures on Literature. New York: Plurabelle Books, 1946

Good Readers and Good Writers Analysis: Post #4

My reaction to the essay at first was that Vladimir Nabokov was arrogant and he thought he was better then others. However, I changed my mind because he is writing an essay about improving on reading and writing. He is not being arrogant, he is sharing his beliefs in a very persuasive way. One of my favorite parts of the essay is the list you pick four things from about a good reader. I picked emotional identification, imagination, memory, and artistic sense. I chose three out of four good reader attributes that Nabokov indicated. The one attribute I did not choose correctly was the emotional identification. The right attribute was a reader should have a dictionary. I was not surprised that much about that answer because if you do not understand what words you are reading then there is no point to read about the unknown words. I though this was an interesting idea of Nabokov's because it spent time choosing from the list and learning what is important about each attribute. I also liked that he explained which ones were right. Another interesting part about the list was that he knew students would pick emotion connection, which I chose. Therefore, after reading the essay a few times, my reaction went from negative to positive!

Bibliography! :
Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lectures on Literature. New York: Plurabelle Books, 1946

Good Readers and Good Writers Analysis: Post #3

The definition of rhetoric is the art or study of using language effectively and persuasively. Therefore an author uses rhetorical devices to help create a better literary effect on readers. One rhetorical devices used in this essay that I noticed right away was tautology, repetition of an idea in a different word, phrase, or sentence. Nabokov constantly mentioned noticing details. Tautology basically stresses the importance of using details effectively. He expressed this by saying "fondle details", "information about time and places of a novel", and "can enjoy it's details". Obviously he uses the rhetorical device tautology to show the importance of using details. I also saw another common rhetorical device called a metaphor used in the essay. A metaphor is comparing or contrast two things not using the words like or as. In this case, the two things were contrasted from each other. "The mist is a mountain" is the used metaphor in the essay. This is used when explaining a journey that a reader makes that starts as something conquerable like mist, that turns into something hard to conquer like a mountain. Those are just some of the rhetorical devices I saw Vladimir Nabokov in the essay "Good Readers and Good Writers".

Bibliography! :
Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lectures on Literature. New York: Plurabelle Books, 1946

Good Readers and Good Writers Analysis: Post #2

Nabokov's tone in "Good Readers and Good Writers" makes him seem like he is superior to others and peers should listen to his writing techniques. A small sentence from the essay "Can anyone be so naive as to think he or she can learn anything about the past from those buxom best-sellers that are hawked around by book clubs under the heading or historical novels?" makes Nabokov look like he is better then the "best-selling authors". This makes him seem arrogant in some ways. He sounds like he likes to be in charge and control others beliefs. Nabokov's tone also strikes me as passionate because of his forceful way he is trying to get his techniques across to the reader. He really cares about how people grasp the concepts he makes about reading and writing. Nabokov states, "If, however a would be reader is utterly devoid of passion and patience-of an artist's passion and a scientist's patience- he will hardly enjoy great literature." This is obviously one of his views on how important it is to be passionate about reading to enjoy it. From that statement readers can tell that he has passion when he reads and in his tone when he writes.

Bibliography! :
Nabokov, Vladimir. "Good Readers and Good Writers." Lectures on Literature. New York: Plurabelle Books, 1946