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“I actually think that one of the useful things about speechwriting is reminding yourself that the original words are spoken, and that there is a sound, a feel to words that, even if you’re reading silently, transmits itself.”  ~Barack Obama

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“I actually think that one of the useful things about speechwriting is reminding yourself that the original words are spoken, and that there is a sound, a feel to words that, even if you’re reading silently, transmits itself.”  ~Barack Obama

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I believe what President Obama means is that all forms of literature have a voice to them, and previous to reading this quote I was ignorant to the power of voice. Obama introduced me to the idea that any form of literature has a feeling to it. As a writer you must understand what you write will be read by someone in a certain voice and feel. Once you become aware of this you can add a whole other layer of emotion and meaning. Something as simple as a work memo can have a thousand different feels depending on how it's worded. The theme of this Padlet will be to discuss how quotes from many different works of literature this semester used feeling and voice to emphasize a moment. Each moment I have chosen is one that I felt to be extremely important in understanding each piece.

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"Maybe it will all add up and balance and vanish—corn, rug, fire; the terror and grief, the being pulled two ways like between two teams of horses—gone, done with for ever and ever". Faulkner's voice is able to change throughout the story as his narrative tells us the ever changing thoughts of Sartoris. Sartoris is ten; we can tell this to be true from phrases like "for ever and ever". It gives you a childish tone. To successfully narrate a story from the point of view of a 10 year old there has to be a lot of voice and feeling, and Faulkner did an excellent job. By putting one single word such as "vanish" in the correct place Faulkner creates a sense of Sartoris' hope. This sentence told me as a reader that Sartoris is ashamed of his father and his families issues. The imagery with describing two horses pulling apart Sartoris feelings is outstanding. Faulkner is a wonderful example of the power and feeling words can have.

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"His face was dark and his back was stiff, as if he'd just had an injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter." As you read this you can feel the age of the person speaking, without even knowing the story. I think this quote was important because it used voice to connect the reader to the age of Sammy. The use of "my stomach kind of fell" sounds as how a high schooler would talk. At the end we all connect to Sammy; we have all gone through the troubles of becoming an adult, and have experienced how difficult things often become. Updike's use of wording superbly allows us to read this quote with understanding and nostalgia.

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Cory done went and got recruited by a college football team.
TROY I told that boy about that football stuff. The white man ain't gonna let him get nowhere with that football. I told him when he first come to me with it. Now you come telling me he done went and got more tied up in it. He ought to go and get recruited in how to fix cars or something where he can make a living.

Fences, a play written by August Wilson, takes place in the 1950's. This piece, being a story from an older time period, is difficult to keep up with. You have to have an understanding of how they talked, acted, and felt. Without great use of voice and sound it is very difficult to connect a reader to a time period they weren't a part of. August Wilson was more than successful in this. The passage above is a very short section of the entire play transcript. I chose this section because it gives the reader insight into how Troy thinks, and demonstrates how Wilson gives us a voice.  Wilson was able to give us a true feeling of how a black male talked and felt in the 1950's. This section, and the whole play as a whole, made me feel as if I were a part of that time period.

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"One says to another How old are you? —Six. —I’m seven. —So? They eye each other, seeing themselves tiny in the other’s pupils. They clear their throats a lot, a room of small bankers, they fold their arms and frown. I could beat you up, a seven says to a six, [...] We could easily kill a two-year-old, he says in his clear voice. The other men agree, they clear their throats like Generals, they relax and get down to playing war, celebrating my son’s life." The theme in my opinion to "Rite of Passage" is about violence as an accomplishment. In order for Sharon Olds to get her point across she writes things the woman is overhearing at her sons birthday party. What makes this understanding possible is her incredible job writing what the boys sound like.  Not only the wording but the structure brings out the voice. It creates an image of young boys arguing over who can beat up who. The strong voice we get from this makes it so easy to understand the idiocracy of the boys, furthering Sharon Olds point.

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"She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice. She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn’t necessarily need to know." Mama is referring to Dee when she speaks these words. Mama is talking about when Dee would return from college and try to change how Mama thinks. With the way this is written you can infer so much about Mama. Alice Walker portrays Mama to seem that knowledge is volatile and that it's a threat to her. The way Walker writes this reminds me of so many crazy people in videos referring to a conspiracy theory or something. One simple paragraph and you can tell how old Mama is and where she lives without even reading the story. This quote transmits such a strong tension between the young and old.

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"Im sory i cry mr wigin im sory i cry when you say you aint comin back tomoro im strong an reven ambros gon be yer wit me an mr harry comin to an reson i cry cause you been so good to me mr eigin an nobody aint never been that good to me an make me think im somebody" I believe that this is the best example of importance of feeling. How could you not read this and feel some sort of pain or sadness. The ability to transfer such emotion to paper is incredible. Jefferson as we know was extremely uneducated so Gaines did a great job of writing it that way. Its not easy when you are such an accomplished writer to dumb down your writing so far. Chapter 29 was arguably the most important chapter in the book, its the first time we get to hear from Jefferson's point of view. The way Gaines wrote this made me truly feel how Jefferson is thinking. Prior to this Jefferson had not expressed a lot of emotion towards Grant. Through the story we got the development of both characters. It was all leading to this point when we finally saw the effect they both had on each other. Thats why I believe it was so important for Gaines to deliver this the way he did.

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A Conversation with Ernest J. Gaines by Lawrence Bridges

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A lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines was my favorite work of literature this semester. The reason this was my favorite is because it challenged me like none of the others works did. As I read through there were so many different points that I stopped to wonder what this actually meant. The book challenged me to think beyond just the surface. Once you asked our class to pick a work a literature to write a research paper on I knew instantly this would be the one. Upon doing more research I further discovered why I felt this book was so important. In the library I was looking at all of the academic papers published about the book. To my delight there were about 20 different papers all discussing different aspects to what the message was. In my opinion I believe that Gaines wrote this with a few main messages in sight. However, he wrote so emotional and powerful it blossomed into hundreds of ideas for the reader. I think it is outstanding that you could influence so many people into deep thought surrounding a few singular ideas. I think the interview above really captures the thought process Gaines had. Gaines is an amazing writer and Im glad others share that same opinion.

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"I am to wash my own clothes

and sheets from this day on, as if

the fluids of my body were poison, as if

the little trickle of blood I believe

travels from my heart to the world were

shameful. Is not the blood of saints and

men in battle beautiful?"
This is just one section from a great poem by Judith Ortiz. From my analysis this poem is about a young girl turning 15 in the hispanic religion, better known as her Quinceanera. I chose this portion of the poem because it really sets the tone for how the young girl feels. Ortiz does a great job of telling us about how a young girl is struggling with puberty. We can see this because of the feeling Ortiz gives us. You can tell the young girl is embarrassed of her body changes by the way her mother is treating her. Ortiz's carefully chosen words tell us it is about the young girls period without having to say it. I myself am a male but because of the unique writing I felt connected to the idea of struggling with puberty. Everyone goes through changes with there body and are not always comfortable with them. O

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The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

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The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

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"She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window."
I chose this quote from "The House on Mango Street" because it is a turning point for the reader. When reading this quote the reader feels the difference between Esperanza and her family. "Sit their sadness on an elbow" is such a powerful statement, and it allows you to connect yourself with Esperanza, hoping she wont do the same. The excellent writing in this paragraph transmits how strong and willful Esperanza is. Sandra Cisneros is an expert at character development through voice. Learning and understanding Esperanza was so easy because it felt as if we were talking to her.

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"Harlem [Dream Deferred]" by Langston Hughes 

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"Harlem [Dream Deferred]" by Langston Hughes 

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Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Harlem by Langston Hughes is a very famous and credited poem. Most people feel the poem is about contemplating dreams and what it means to postpone them. While I find this a very important subject, it is not why I choose this poem. I chose Harlem because of the impact it has on everyone. Most of us have read this poem at some point, or at the least have heard of Langston Hughes. I think this is because he, like most great poets, is able to draw emotion out of us. When I first read this poem it sent my mind flying. Hughes is an expert at crafting words and meanings together in non traditional ways. Every line has its own feeling that connects to the bigger picture. I felt something from this poem, and I rarely have that with other works of literature. I think thats whats important, the feeling.

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"[A]lways squeeze bread to make sure it’s fresh; but what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?" I choose this part of Jamaica Kincaid's incredibly well crafted "Girl" because of the odd feeling shinning through. Most of the quotes have been about understanding, connection, and sadness. This quote gives me the feeling of question/confusion. The overall theme of "Girl" is about female sexuality. This quote, however, leaves me guessing. What does the bread have to do with anything? Why is this such a powerful statement for the girl? There are so many emotions writing can provoke, and I found this to be a particularly good example of one, that being intrigue.

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Listen to the Children - Severn Cullis-Suzuki's

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Listen to the Children - Severn Cullis-Suzuki's

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For my individual choice I decided on a speech by a very intelligent young girl name Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Without spoiling too much I will give you some background and what I find to be of importance. Suzuki is speaking at a United Nations summit; Her and several of her classmates raised money to speak to the Nations about the importance of the environment. Suzuki delivers an incredible speech that silences and captivates the U.N. At such a young age her speech is  able to do exactly what Obama discussed, for my theme. It's delivered with such passion and feeling that it is hard not to feel inspired. Suzuki's speech is relatively unknown, however, it bares more importance than ever. I hope you enjoy.

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Listen to the Children - Severn Cullis-Suzuki's famous speech on the environment (1992)