The Primary Reason
So we all had to read Donald Murray’s “Trying on the Essay,” and something that caught my eye was his part about finding a context. He talks about the primary reason we write and read is to see what Robert Frost said was “a momentary stay against confusion.” I agree with this. I write to organize my thoughts and I read to understand what someone wrote. Murray also explained that we write to discover meaning, not necessarily the meaning, but a meaning. We all interpret the meaning of a story differently and there is normally no correct answer. As I write the essay that is due that we are all doing, I think about all of these things. I think about why I am writing and how to not make it confusing. This is so that readers can interpret my ideas in a way that they understand them. So as I write my shifting point essay, I think about a meaning. Murray also says that a reason he writes personal essays is to “discover how much I know that I didn’t know I knew.” It is pretty great when I read what I wrote and find out that I know a lot more than I actually did. Basically, this article helped me a lot in figuring out what reasons I am writing for and Murray had great points in how to write a great personal essay.
Totally agree, there’s so much you can learn about yourself by writing something personal. As I was writing our last essay (a topic that I don’t consider to be all too personal as far as personal essays go) I really realized a lot of stuff about myself. I got on the topic of writing and I realized writing affected me in many ways I would have never expected; both that specific piece and reflecting on pieces that I did in the past and hadn’t thought about for years. Anyways, I guess what I’m saying is I really like your point about learning stuff about yourself through writing personal papers, essays, or whatever else.
ReplyDeletei agree with both Connor and Michael! its so true, i wasn't too psyched about our recent paper but as i wrote it i started finding a meaning to so many experiences. i learned a lot oabout myself too! working so that the readers can understand your ideas is definitively a plus but first its important you can understand yourself!..
ReplyDeletebtw im having the same problem as michael. im supposed to post a blog on here and my account is not allowing me;/ can anyone help me posting it?
I never write to organize my thoughts. I don't know why but i have always organized my thoughts in my head. When i write an essay i have to think about what i am going to write and then write it all out i don't write my thoughts down and then organize them. Everyone definitely has their own opinions on what the meaning is behind a story, but it is all in how you interpret the story. I also have to disagree with the fact that writing helps you “discover how much I know that I didn’t know I knew.” I disagree because if you know the information that you wrote down them you have obviously learned it before and didn't just make it up. You man have forgotten about it, but you didn't just discover that you knew it.
ReplyDeleteI see your point Michael. Writing is a great way to get your mixed emotions organized and down on paper so you can see them in plain sight. That's what I do, anyways. I write for safe ventilation, so I can say how I honestly feel without the consequence of others judging me. I also believe writing/reading your own piece or even someone else's piece helps you discover things about yourself. This paper is really helping me go step by step with what happened to me, and it helps me figure out how far I have come from that change. It's a really cool thing to see once it's all done.
ReplyDeleteWriting my essay has really made me realize how much my personal experience I chose, has shaped me into the person I am today. I realized that everything we do has meaning. I have also realized so much about myself through this writing. I agree with the fact that writing helps you “to discover how much I know that I didn’t know I knew.” I feel like I can relate to this because when I go to write my essay sometimes I surprise myself with the things I write. Writing helps me realize the things in my life that give it purpose and makes me realize how a little experience in my life can change my thoughts about something forever.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't like to have hidden meaning in my personal or any time of essay that I write. I take things very literally at times. I can't tell also whether or not a person is being serious or not. I try to avoid at all costs, if possible. I do agree that there are many interpretations to an essay. But the one who knows the true meaning is the author himself.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I am getting better with every paper I write. Each time I feel more confident in my writing ability. You do learn a lot about yourself writing these personal papers. Sometimes I get sad when I think back a few years ago. I really like the quote "a momentary stay against confusion." When you are writing nothing really matters. You can make sense of your life in that moment and put it into your own words. Writing is a great way to express yourself and learn about yourself.
ReplyDeleteI think the whole point of the journals is so that we can reflect and find meaning in all aspects of our lives. We are capable of learning so much about ourselves through writing as long as we use our memory effectively. Writing is a great way to find meaning by looking at and fully describing our past. By doing so, we can discover new aspects of ourselves that we would have otherwise not known. This course has been enlightening because I now see how writing can help me express and see myself in a new light.
ReplyDeleteI think that writing papers does really show people how much they actually know. When you let your fingers type and don't stop to think about what you just put on the screen, it can be exciting to go back and read what you just wrote. Sometimes you may surprise yourself. I've done this to myself before where I have written an essay, went back and revised and added some more material, and reread and surprised myself with what I had produced. Reading other people's writing many inspire us to write like they do, about what they do, or maybe even the opposite of how someone else does something. And like you said, I often tend to wonder if what I am writing in my essays and posts are confusing or understandable to others. I may come across an idea that I wrote down that I understand, but maybe the reader doesn't necessarily understand it.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with the part that talks about how writing shows people how much they actually know. When writing my essay on change I didn't realize how emotional I was about the subject. Sitting down and actually analyzing the change made me realize how much it effected me. I think sometimes I try not to think about things that make me really emotional. Having to write this paper was a good way to relieve some of the emotions.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree. Each time we write, it is a new opportunity to learn about ourselves. Sometimes writing just makes the understanding part easier, it is like seeing the picture of what is going on in front you --Making it easier to organize, explore, and pull out meaning. Writing my essay helped me unlock a lot of memories and details that i did not remember. I started to type and it all began to trickle down from my memory. I love when that happens!
ReplyDeleteI agree that Murray had great points on how to write a personal essay. That essay put into perspective just how personal our second essay really is. At first I didn't think I had a purpose for writing my essay but then I realized that I did. I'm trying to show how a certain event in my life changed the way I am today. Reading Murray's essay helped put that into perspective for me. Writing down a personal story helps me organize my thoughts instead of being all jumbled in my head. Once I get everything down I try to make the story come off the page so the reader can see in their mind what I am talking about.
ReplyDeleteI love what you said about everyone taking something different from a story. At this leadership seminar I went to they made us all pick from a hat and we were each given a perspective. We all read the same story with different perspectives and we all took different things from it. We all have had our own experiences in life so all of our opinions are different. Poems really exemplify this because they are usually ambiguous and vague. Everyone applies them in a different way to their life. It’s all based on our perspective and the opinions we’ve formed throughout our lives. Which is why some people like writings that others don’t. We all have our own taste and perception of books.
ReplyDeleteI agree to some extent. Sometimes there is no right answer to how we should write. Other times there is. It just depends how many shades of grey there are. If you are writing a research paper, it doesn't usually have different meanings to different people. It's all facts. There are times to learn things emotionally, and there are times to learn mentally. Writing helps us do both.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely true. When we all read we all have a slightly different interpretation of the meaning of the reading. A lot of times our personal experiences affect our interpretation of it. As for writing after I write a part of my essay I always reread it to make sure it makes sense. There is no point writing if it is extremely difficult for the reader to find meaning in your writing. Then as I reread my paper and reorganize I am forced to look at what I wrote and learn a different perspective on my thoughts, especially on our current paper.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. In every literary work there is a meaning behind it that we either see or don't see. And even when we write essays ourselves there is always a meaning. It may not be the exact meaning we want it to be at first but there is still a meaning. Reading "Trying on the Essay" helped me with my essay as well. It made me realize things about my writing that I didn't see before. And I too have noticed that I know more than I think I do about myself and my personal stories. I believe that every essay we will write in this class will teach us something new about ourselves.
ReplyDeleteWriting is one of the best ways to vent emotion in my opinion, so I strongly agree with you. Writing is a sort of escape from everyday life, you can write about whatever you want. We can write things that we dont have the courage to say, and it really helps to give the reader (if there is one) a deep look into who you really are.
ReplyDeleteI write to clear my mind. I use writing as a tool to express my thoughts and feelings, not necessarily to organize my thoughts. Writing isn't about organization. It's about your inner feelings and how you wish to express those thoughts and feelings on your own sheet of paper.
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