Chapter 8 Review

I thought chapter eight was super interesting and I especially liked the sketches that were in it.  Some of the things that I learned were that you actually need to have evidence to back up your points, as stated on page 326.  I also thought it was super neat that you could critically analyze different pieces by looking at them through different "lenses".  For example, you could look at a piece through a historical lens or a feminist lens and get two very different interpretations of the same piece.
My favorite piece of the chapter is definitely "Lullaby" by Leslie Marmon Silko on page 292.  You could analyze this piece a multitude of different ways, but I liked the harmony that Ayah had with nature and the land.  She made the Earth her family and even talks about that during the song she sings at the end of the passage.  I think its also interesting to look at the difference between how she copes with the loss of all her children and how her husband, Chato copes.  I think it also digs deep into Navajo tradition and culture, with the men having to show a brave front and the women standing next to them no matter what.  It was a super interesting piece and I would definitely need a little more background on Navajo traditions but I could definitely see the ora tradition that is prominent in that culture being passed down.

Chapter 8 Review

While reading Chapter 8, I think the part that was most interesting to me was the  essay “Lullaby” by Leslie Maon Silko. This essay was very interesting because it described a Native American woman reflecting on her life in her old age. This story was full of loss for the main character, Ayah. I think that although it was very tragic, it was significant that the author chose to include a scene that showed the mistreatment of Native Americans and how the “white men” took advantage of their limited knowledge of English. In the end, it was very moving how despite everything her and her husband, Chato, have been through, Ayah ends with saying that they are “together always”.

Overall, I think this chapter was one of the most informative because thinking critically is an important life skill and can also be applied when it comes to writing papers if done correctly.

Chapter 8 Reflection

      I would like to reflect on the story called “Lullaby” by Leslie Marmon Silko in chapter eight.  This is a very deep and sad story dealing with the topics of loss, regret, and coping.  A Navajo Indian women named Ayah experiences a great deal of loss and pain.  This begins with the death of her eldest child named Jimmie; he dies in a helicopter incident while serving in the U.S. Army.  Ayah copes with this pain by wrapping herself up with the Army blanket that Jimmie sent her before he died.  Ayah later loses her two remaining children to the government because of illnesses.  She copes with this by sitting up in the hills surrounded by the same nature that surrounded her and her children when they were hiding from the government before being taken.  The story ends with Ayah singing a deep lullaby that contains nature themed elements.
      The most interesting thing in this story is the connection Ayah has with nature.  She uses the sights, sounds, and smells of the hills, along with Jimmie’s blanket, as a way to remember her moments with her children.  She takes detailed note of the moon, stars, snow, sky, and the cold.  She sits there, one with nature, and connects to her family this way.  The lullaby at the end illustrates this by assigning one element of nature to a member of the family and saying, “We are together always”.

Chapter 8: Writing a Critical Essay from Alex Enders

     One of the many principles that I learned from chapter 8 was about how to write a critical essay and how you must focus your essay over what the subject truly means.  Plus, throughout writing your essay you must use your own previous knowledge and the research that you have done on your subject to support your essay to show its true meaning. In turn, using outside information whether it supports your subject or goes against it to further your essay and its meaning.
     Another item I learned was how to revise a paper. I learned that when revising a paper you cannot only have evidence but you must have an interpretation of that evidence so that the reader may be able to learn the meaning of it. Plus, when revising you must try to make sure that when the reader is done they know what point you were trying to make, that the paper was smooth from paragraph to paragraph, and that all sentences are straight and to the point. For example, in the revised essay to "What is the roll of Nature in "Lullaby"?" on page 332 the introduction to the paper now states a broad background of the characters and a broad overview of what is yet to come in the essay without going into to much detail. Plus, the essay now has evidence supported by interpretation so that the reader may now understand what the author of the paper means by its evidence. In addition, this is a great change because in the first version the author barely introduces the characters and goes straight to the point of the whole paper and doesn't give any examples and interpret them as well.

Chapter 8, Sierra Shamhart

Before I started reading chapter 8 I wasn’t very intrigued because of its length. However, I’m glad I read it because I learned a lot of beneficial things. I learned the difference between a critical essay and a research paper. As well as how to pick apart text and dig deeper. I specifically like the sketch on pages 324 and 325. I hadn’t thought about starting with a sketch when I write. I’ve been taught my whole life that you start with a draft then you turn it into your final. I really liked that she used that sketch and the points she included were effective and clear. Julie Birds essay was very well written. After reading this chapter I feel more confident in my ability of being able to find the errors in my essay and tweaking them to make them stronger.

Chapter 8 Reflection- Holly Galvin

I learned that critical essays are the more scholarly way to write an argument because the author is not supposed to use first person unlike an argument essay. The chart on page 288 really helped me understand what the purpose of a critical essay was because it was broken down in easier terms and laid out. It also helped me realize what I should be looking for when revising an essay and how to fix it once I do find weak points.

The chart on 317 was also very helpful in understanding a critical essay. It tells you what you should be thinking about when writing your critical essay and what kind of things you should be criticizing. On page 318 Ballenger writes “ In the conversation between what a text says and what it might be saying, you discover fresh understandings of what you read.” This quote stuck out to me because it helps me gain an understanding of the whole point of a critical essay. Chapter 8 was very lengthy but I learned good information from it.

Chapter 8

While reading chapter 8 I began to gain a better understanding of what a critical essay truly is. It was interesting to me that it is basically just analyzing a text or paper. I liked the example on page 330 where it shows you where an interpretation is and where the evidence is that backs it up. I think this chapter did a good job of explaining how to polish and revise work and find what you did wrong in the first place. This chapter did a really good job of explaining what a critical essay is and the different parts of one.

Another thing I liked was the idea of starting with a sketch the moving to a draft. Many people start with a draft and just try to get done as fast as possible, but good writing takes time and I like the Author's point about starting even before a rough draft. After completing the final draft go through a bit of analysis which everyone should do when writing a paper. Overall this chapter helped my understanding of a critical essay which I found very helpful