Author: Maddy

After reading the article, the picture that  most captured my attention was the one of the girl in the car on the way to Chicago. The way the light hits her hand and the position of her fingers were all very intriguing. My initial thought for this photo was that it was going to be very difficult the recreate. I’m not very talented in the drawing department but I was going to try my hardest! After sketching, one can see that I was drawn to her hand placement. In the photo, she looks very relaxed and at ease, here it kind of looks like a claw. I think both representations make this photo “art”. Art is such a subjective topic and the most simple line drawings or photos can be the ones that create the most emotion.

 When looking at this photo, one may notice there isn’t a whole bunch of stuff in my bag. Nevertheless, we are going to go through it.

-Backpack: my catchall, has some garbage in it, grey-blue, basic

-Macbook: has my whole life on it, very preppy, stickers are very mainstream, keeps up with the basic aesthetic

-Assorted Notebooks and Folders: it is hard to tell here, but all notebooks and folders are labeled and color coordinated, some are chock-full, others not so much

-Planner: organizes my life, if I didn’t have this thing I don’t know what I would do… for real

-Pencil Pouch: includes all colors of Bic Flair pens (my favorite), some empty gum wrappers, white-out, 17 tubes of chapstick, and a trusty calculator

-Headphones: used when I don’t feel like talking to people and at the gym (the former is much more common)

-Chem Lab Notebook: the death of me

-Water Bottle: Hydrate or Die-drate my friends, also includes fun stickers including a green bottle and two lemons [guess what it is ;)]

-Post-its: I put these everywhere, along with my planner they keep my life from falling apart

-Gum/Mints/Lara Bar: used for breath freshening and protein, I use this stuff religiously

– Maus: well, you know what this is for

I actually didn’t leave anything out of the photo so this is the authentic experience. I think this photo helps exemplify my organization. For example, I pack and unpack my bag the exact same way everyday and if it is out of order it really messes with my day. I don’t really have any interesting things in my bag, which I hope doesn’t reflect what people’s perceptions are of me.

 

The Hillary Chute quote “Comics, in fact, is a medium that involves a substantial degree of reader participation to stitch together narrative meaning” really applies to this chapter of Maus. Reading this chapter gave us an insight of Artie’s life after his father died and how he continued writing the book. The stretch of time right after the passing of his father was rough for Artie, as he was being flooded with book deals and movie prospectors and the whole gamut of Hollywood big wigs trying to get the “Next Big Thing”. Artie seemed depressed and anxious during this time, as he was soon to be a father himself. However, his own father’s shadow lingered over him making him seem almost guilty or remorseful. Artie’s portrayal of himself in the novel also shrinks, his mouse representation gets physically smaller and he mentions he does not want to be a grown up anymore. All of these factors really require a lot from the reader to correctly interpret what is going on. We are required to piece together all of Artie’s thoughts and feelings to really get the whole picture of what is happening to him emotionally. When Artie goes to see Pavel, we learn that the reason Artie feels guilty is because he doesn’t want to be more successful than his father. He believes that living through Auschwitz was the epitome of “success” and doesn’t want to overshadow his father’s accomplishments. In a dark and twisty world this mindset makes sense.

 

your eyes

turned

you should

apologize

“Yes Ma’am”

I

agreed

so I turned

apologized

and

spent every minute

afraid

In the third chapter of Maus, there were a few panels that really jumped out at me. The most intriguing one, in my opinion, was one in which Vladek was trying to board the train back to Sosnowiec. The panel is rectangular in shape, about medium size, and very dark. This panel really caught my attention because Vladek is wearing a pig mask to blend in with the Poles. He is speaking badly of the Germans, and using this commonality to worm his way to a spot on the train. I think it is really interesting how Spiegelman portrayed this moment as Vladek wearing a mask, instead of being a “mouse” and attempting to board the train. I think it helps show how much the Jews had to grovel to receive any kind of kindness from anyone in Eastern Europe.

 

Taking notes in a visual context was much different than my normal note-taking style. I chose to take notes for my NBB Freshman Seminar. In this class, we were working towards diagnosing a “patient” who had many neurological issues. In the beginning of class, we were given a set of symptoms, the patient’s age, and some environmental factors that could have been pertinent to her problem. From there, we were given more information in increments. I modeled my notes to represent the path of thinking that I had while attempting to diagnose the patient. With the correct information, the whole class was able to correctly diagnose the patient with Multiple Sclerosis, a neurodegenerative disease that causes lesions on the brain and neurological issues. I think taking notes in a visual context really helped me to view the process of elimination that healthcare providers use to make hypotheses about what is wrong with their patients. I tend to think very analytically, and I believe my notes reflect this aspect very well. I don’t know that I would take notes like this in the future, as I don’t think I retained as much information or went into as much detail as I normally would.

When writing this piece, I found that the words flowed relatively easily. It is much easier to write about yourself than something you have to research. You automatically know what comes next. I started this post with a simple outline, just to organize my thoughts and really get them to flow onto the paper. The most intriguing line in this essay is as follows, “There were a select number of books that had been read to me so many times, I would mouth the words simultaneously with the reader.” It encapsulates my journey as a young reader and shows how enamored I become when given a good story. I find it the best to delete that parts of my outline as I continue writing. It’s almost like this twisted competitive drive I have to get to the finish line, the more I can delete, the closer I am to finishing. I also use the outline as a way to stay on track and keep myself focused. The hardest part with this specific project was keeping in the word parameters. I have always had this issue with writing. I tend to include a lot of small details that most likely do not need to be included in the paper. Editing the paper and cutting out the less important details is probably what I struggle the most with. I find it helpful to have a friend peer edit the paper. It gives the words a fresh set of eyes and someone who was not there during the writing process. In the end, after the peer editing and the cutting, the paper really reflected how I feel about reading and writing.

View this Article via What Reading and Writing Means to Me

My journey into literacy has been one full of discovery and wonder. Reading has always been a large part of my life and continues to benefit me in many ways.