Friday, January 24, 2020

Topics as Photographs :: Writing

â€Å"Writers are like photographers,† Donald Murray reminds us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The photographer doesn’t snap a picture while scanning an   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  entire scene. Instead he selects a single focus (239-240).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This analogy was exceptionally powerful to me. The idea of looking through a camera lens out at an event or a topic just has wonderful possibilities. You could do a panoramic photo, including the wide picture, seeing how many pieces fit together. On the other hand, you could use the high-powered zoom lens to get up close and magnify a single element of the photo. Even the photographer’s decision to use black and white or color film to make a particular statement can translate into a writer’s decision to use sparse exposition or flowery prose to create a desired effect. A question that occurs to me that I might ask my students is this: â€Å"If your topic was a photograph, what would it look like?† Would it have lots of characters in it, or just one? Is the physical setting the most important element, or rather the expression on the subject’s face? And on and on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maybe this speaks to me because I am the yearbook editor, and one of the biggest jobs of the publications staff is to find the right picture to tell the story. From an entire role of film, we might get just one or two usable photos; or none. Or we might have so many to choose from that we have to select the best angle and/or composition. Those words, â€Å"angle† and â€Å"composition† are writing words as well as visual arts terms. Out of a notebook full of drafts, I might find the same dilemmas -- not enough or too much usable raw material for a piece of writing.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Public Habit

Win-win thinking simply describes the belief that everyone can win. This line of thinking allows you to care for others as well as yourself. Thinking win-win is like an all you can eat buffet; there is more than enough for everybody. To fully understand what it means to think win-win, we must understand what it is not. Win-Lose (aka-The Totem Pole) is the attitude that there's only a certain amount of something, and if you get big piece, there is less for me, so therefore I'm going to get my piece first.Lose- Win (aka-The Doormat) is the attitude that sets low expectations and compromises standards repeatedly, such as if I lose, you win. Lose-Lose (aka-The Downward Spiral) is the attitude that, â€Å"If I go down, you're going down with me. â€Å"Unlike these, the Win- Win cares about others and wants them to succeed, as well as caring about themselves. So you might be asking yourself, â€Å"How can I think Win-win? † First, you must succeed in obtaining private victories, w here the benefit is internal.Without Hess, it's hard for a person to enjoy other's successes, or share recognition and praise, because of their insecurities. As a person makes deposits into their ABA (Personal Bank Account), takes responsibility for their own life, and creates a plan, their confidence and security will boost, thus allowing them to enjoy the company of others instead of feeling threatened by them. The â€Å"tumor twins†, competing and comparing, are the two habits that, like tumors, slowly eat you away.Competition and impairing turns dark when your self-worth Is tied to winning or being better than others. These, when not appropriate, can harm you. Lose-Win and Win-Lose will cloud you with negative thoughts. Not only does developing a Win-Win attitude infuse your heart with warm thoughts, but It also gives you confidence. Get a big piece, there is less for me, so therefore I'm going to get my piece first. Lose- comparing turns dark when your self-worth is tied to winning or being better than infuse your heart with warm thoughts, but it also gives you confidence.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

African Migration Africa Movement - 1332 Words

As a contrast, Mosley presents Back-to-Africa movement in a different, serious light. This group is an important organization, whose aim is to help people; it is also tightly connected to the church. During his investigation, Easy s new lead brings him to the doors of the Back-to-Africa movement, which he is not familiar with. Therefore, he turns again for information to his friend, Jackson Blue, a man who has every answer to every question. Jackson Blue teaches Easy a lesson about Du Bois and â€Å"back to Africa† movement, organization called African Migration: â€Å"Du Bois is a famous Negro. Almost a hundred years old. He always writin bout gettin back t Africa. You probably ain t never heard a him cause he s a com unist. They don†¦show more content†¦Easy is very proud to own his house, in fact, he is the owner of a few more properties; to be an African-American landlord is an unusual thing of that time. He doesn t want to see African Migration come to harm , that s why when Easy recovers some of Lawrence s ill-gotten money, he gives a portion of it to the Back-to-Africa movement. Furthermore, the reader notices that Easy s actions are often controlled by his good heart, specifically in case of women. In case of EttaMae, a love of his life, the private investigator helps her to hide from her husband, and finds a place to live. As a matter of fact, Mosley, in A Red Death, depicts women, who seek help and protection. EttaMae is described as a sepia-colored woman, large, but shapely; according to Easy, she is â€Å"beautiful, full-faced woman with serious eyes and a mouth; she is also powerful, hard working woman who, in her younger years, â€Å"had done hand laundry nine hours a day, six days a week† (55). Nevertheless, EttaMae is also a woman that belongs to Easy s best friend Mouse. He can never forget the only night they spent together, and what a disappointment he encountered when in the morning all she did was talking about Mouse, â€Å"how wonderful he was and how lucky I was to have him for a friend† (62). Mosley s descriptive prose focuses on how EttaMae makes a man feel. She is desirable because, â€Å"She could knock a man into Tuesday or she could hold you so tight you