Blog 6

Well when being asked to rank the essays we have read based upon how well they meet the requirements for my own essay is was at first quite hard but then became easy so heres my list:
1. Orwell - Shooting an Elephant
2. Danticat- Westbury Place
3. Drummond - Alive
4. Lott - Toward a definition of creative nonfiction
5. Schwartz - My father always said
6. Didion - On keeping a Notebook
7. Alexie - Superman & Me
8. Kincaid - Biography of a dress
9. Montainge - That Men Should Not Judge
10. Jo Ann - Out There
11. Theil - Crossing the border
12. Oliver - Decent

Well making the list went more smoothly then i originally assumed but i guess that's why they make that saying "you should never assume". The first essay is loved the best and i think will help me the best because i still haven't picked what my personal essay topic but i do have it down to three possible ideas. I just have to figure out which one i want to write about the most. The first essay like i was saying i think will; help me the best cause the way he writes his own feelings and the emotions he was feeling during all the events. I liked how he showed the personal internal struggle he went through. in my one possible idea i had the same struggle obviously not about shooting an elephant but my own problem. My number 2 is "Westbury Place" because i had a similar thing happen to me when i was a child. I actually told the class about ti already but like our narrator in the story i was so involved in television's fictional plots that i would forget my surroundings. My number 3 although i have my own arguments and opinions about the piece but i loved the way you could feel the emotion the narrator felt and what she was going through. So that technique and writing style she used i may copy in my own personal essay. My Number 4 i chose because of the definition he gave of creative nonfiction, which opened my eyes completely and helped with the understanding of what CNF truly is. I have a bunch of lines marked in my book and noted which personally think are powerful and moving. To me they are the base of the CNF and everyone should follow his definitions.
To be completely honest with you after number 4 i really didn't enjoy the other readings. though they are interesting, they really didn't effect me or show me any styles i would use for my own personal essay. Nor did the experiences or stories told relate to me in any way so i don't know. I hope that justifies my reasoning for not explaining observations or experiences from the other essays. But hey though its only one mans opinion.