Wuthering Heights #6

One reason classic novels are so classic is because they are timeless. No matter how old they are people still read them because they are so good. I think that Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights is timeless for many reasons. The main reason I think is because of its universal theme. The theme is about love and how hard it can be to handle. About its obstacles but it always works out. This novel is timeless simply because the theme is. Any age group in any time period can relate to this theme.

The main character Heathcliff is timeless pretty much for the same reason. His traits and actions that he take are relatable to many of the novel's readers. He gets heartbroken because of love and then he out to seek revenge. This happened often to people back then and people today as well.

After reading this novel we can learn what love can really be like. You can hit obstacles and not make it through them, or you can hit them and make it through. This can also make your relationship stronger. We also may learn that it is not always best to be revengeful. It might not turn out how you had planned.

Wuthering Heights #5

To start off, the time period of the stories Nelly told was in the mid 1700's in Yorkshire. The behavior and social issues of that time was a lot different than this time period. For example of behavior, people back then were much more polite to strangers. I noticed many different times that people were being invited over for dinner, having pleasant conversations, etc. You do not see too much of that happening with strangers today. As for social issues, the major one I found was Catherine Earnshaw agreeing to be engaged to Edgar Linton. This can be a social issue because Catherine was greedy and wanted money, and most of all she wanted social advancement. I do not think that this happens as much as it does in our time period than it did back then.

Symbolic and thematic significances are key to a novel. This novel had one symbol that really stood out: love. Some hearts were broken throughout the novel and because of that, it made an interesting story. Also, it is not always the best idea to seek revenge. It does not always turn out how you think it will. And much like the theme, love is tough and hard to handle. There will be obstacles but it will always be worth it.

Wuthering Heights #4

Most novels always have a hero in their story. When reading Wuthering Heights, there really was not a hero that I noticed. Also, the protagonist of the story is usually the hero of the story. Heathcliff is the protagonist of this story, but he does not really show any heroic characteristics. Although, he is the most heroic character in this novel. So I guess if I had to I would choose him to be the hero. As for his traits, the two that stood out to me were revengeful and miserable. He is always seeking revenge. For example, on Edgar Linton for marrying the girl of his dreams. Then he is also miserable because he did not get to marry Catherine. The only accomplishment that Heathcliff accomplished would probably be getting his revenge. The only thing that I think Heathcliff represents as a hero would be revenge, since he is so keen on seeking it. He also seems evil because he is so cruel to many people. This never would have happened if he would not have gotten his heart broken. But because it did, it made him the man he was. Even though Heathcliff was not much of a hero, he might have made a good villain.

Wuthering Heights #3

Every novel that is written must have a universal theme. The authors have a lot of thinking to do. In the novel Wuthering Heights, there is one universal theme that really stands out to me. The theme is that love is tough at times. There will always be obstacle you will have to go through. But in the end it will be worth it. Just like Heathcliff and Catherine's relationship. There were very many obstacles for the two and that resembles many relationships. So Bronte did a good job with the theme because many of the readers could relate to it.

As for human nature, I think that Emily Bronte understood that very well. Revenge is one of the many things that are common in human nature. Bronte noticed that and put a lot of revenge in her novel. She also knows that greed is in human nature. So when Catherine decides to marry Edgar, it is out of greed because she just wants money and to be in a higher social class. She chose money over love. And many humans make that mistake. Humans make mistakes in general and Bronte did an excellent job of adding that human nature in her novel.

Wuthering Heights #2

The causes, gains, and loses are a big part of a novel's plot. These are the things that lead up to the climax, or it could even be the climax. In Wuthering Heights, there numerous amounts of causes, gains, and loses. When I think about causes and loses, I automatically think about Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Heathcliff and Catherine were madly in love, but for some reason Catherine agrees to marry Edgar Linton. She does this because she wants to move up socially, even though she is in love with Heathcliff. There seem to be many deaths throughout this novel. Many people pass away, but one important death was Catherine Earnshaw. She died while giving birth to her only daughter. She was named after her mother, Catherine. This was a major lose because one of the main characters lost their life.

Now, trying to find some causes and gains in this novel was a little bit harder than the loses. I believe that all love is a gain. And there were a lot of people falling in love. Heathcliff and Catherine started it all, but that did not turn out too great. One couple that did turn out great was towards the end of the book. Hareton Earnshaw and Catherine Linton fall in love and it does turn out great. There are actually several gains. This is just one.

Wuthering Heights #1

When writing, it tells a lot about the author's values and attitudes. In Wuthering Heights, I noticed a lot about Emily Bronte's attitudes. She seems very serious when it comes to writing this novel. She is humorless; there is nothing funny just seriousness. Just like the protagonist of the novel, Heathcliff. In the beginning of the novel Heathcliff and Catherine's relationship or love is almost like a tragedy and her attitude is unhappy. She also has many values towards love because of their relationship. Therefore, Bronte shows a lot of values in her novel.

Moving on to Bronte's perspective in the novel. Her perspective is quite gloomy. It is not really depressing, but it is not really uplifting or happy. As I said earlier in the blog, Bronte has an attitude that seems unhappy. Another definition of perspective would be the point of view that the author is writing from, and who the point of view is coming from. In this case, Bronte's perspective is from Mr. Lockwood. So she is narrating through him. The point of view would be first person. I noticed this early in the novel because I saw words such as I, me, my, and mine.

Bronte showed many different values and attitudes. She also had many different perspectives as well.

"Why Read the Classics?" #8

The reader's reaction is very important if an author wants to get good reviews on their essay or whatever they are writing. My reaction of Nabokov's "Good Readers and Good Writers" was not so good, but my reaction of Calvino's "Why Read the Classics?" was a lot better. Nabokov's writing was a little negative, so that made my reaction towards it negative. Calvino's writing was more positive, therefore my reaction was positive as well. I really enjoyed reading this essay and it made me want to pick up a classic novel and read it. Since this essay was very logical (so it makes sense that I had a logical reaction towards the essay), I feel like I have more knowledge when it come to classical novels. This will come in handy when I continue to read the novels Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I feel that the essay "Good Readers and Good Writers" will help me with my reading and writing, I just do not like the way the help was provided. However, "Why Read the Classics?" will also help me. It will help me with my reading and it will also help me with comprehending classic novels. As opposed to Nabokov's essay, I enjoyed reading this one. So you could say I am a fan of more logical type essays.

"Why Read the Classics?" #7

When it comes to writing essays, novels, short stories, etc. there are a lot of decisions to make. The authors of these writings have to choose things like the point of view, the plot, the characters, the setting, and the theme that they want to send out to their readers. Italo Calvino knew he had a lot of authority when he decided to write his essay "Why Read the Classics?". Although, he does not have to make as many choices. Since this is a fictional and also an informational essay, he did not have to choose the characters or the setting. The plot and the theme are extremely similar to the title of this essay. Calvino decided to make the plot about reading classic novels, and why. It tells you that just in the title. After deciding what he wants his essay to be about, Calvino gets to choose the theme of the essay. I think that the theme or message was that reading the classics is a really good decision. After reading the essay I feel that reading the classics will be better for me in the long run, and I will never forget them. The point of view is also a decision made in the early stages of writing. Calvino chose to use first person. I know this because he uses words such as I, me, my, and mine.There is a huge amount of authority for the author. Without the author, there would be no essay or novel. After all, you can not spell authority without author!

"Why Read the Classics?" #6

Defining a Word or Phrase, Turn About, Asking Questions, Using an Anecdote, Using Quotation, and the Funnel Method are the six methods used to organize introductions. If it is possible, the introduction must be the whole first chapter. The title of the first chapter is "Why Read the Classics?" so that must mean that the whole chapter is leading up to what the essay is about. The method used in the introduction is Defining a Word or Phrase. I can tell that it is Defining a Word or Phrase easily just because of all of the definitions given by Calvino. Defining is a good idea because telling the readers what the definition of a classic is will interest them and they will want to read on.

As for the conclusion of the essay, it is extremely similar to the conclusion of "Good Readers and Good Writers". Neither of these essays really have a strong conclusion. Calvino's conclusion just talks about a Russian author named Tolstoy. This really has nothing to do with his whole essay, which is about reading classics. He talks about how Tolstoy thinks outside of the box, and somehow that can relate to the classics because they are unique. And that is what makes them classics.

"Why Read the Classics?" #5

Functional, logical, chronological, and spacial are the four terms that come to mind when talking about the organization of one's essay. Organizing is important to do when writing an essay. It helps with the flow of the essay and makes it easier for the readers to comprehend the theme. I believe that Italo Calvino organized his essay "Why Read the Classics?" using logical organization. I believe this because he is using logic to inform the readers. He is using logic by giving many definitions. Here are just a few examples of definitions in the essay: "9. Classics are books which, the more we think we know them through hearsay, the more original, unexpected, and innovative we find them when we actually read them.", "10. A classic is the term given to any book which comes to represent the whole universe, a book on a par with ancient talismans.", and "12. A classic is a work that comes before other classics; but those who have read other classics first immediately recognise its place in the genealogy of classic works." Because all of these definitions in Calvino's writing, these leads me to choose that he used logical organization when writing this essay.

"Why Read the Classics?" #4

In Italo Calvino's essay "Why Read the Classics?", there were several passages that stood out to me and caught my attention. The first idea I noticed was all of the definitions that Calvino put in his essay. My favorite definition is on the fourth page of the essay. It says that classic books are ones that exercise the reader's imagination, and they will never forget it. That book will always be in their memory.

"3. The classics are books which exercise a particular influence, both when they imprint themselves on our imagination as unforgettable, and then they hide in the layers of memory disguised as the individual's or the collective unconscious."

Writing out definitions of classic books is one thing that stood out to me. Another thing that I noticed and admired was how Calvino used examples of other authors and their writing. An example of this is on page 143 of the essay. He used an excerpt from the diary of young Cesare Pavese. This shows that he admires other authors and their work. And that is what I admire about Calvino. There were many other things that caught my attention in this essay, but these were the two things that I enjoyed the most about "Why Read the Classics?"

"Why Read the Classics?" #3

Common examples that are often used in writing are metaphors, similies, ironies, hyperbolies, onomatopoeias, and much more than that. As we have learned in earlier blogs, a rhetorical device is a technique of writing that an author uses to effect or persuade the reader. So in his essay, Calvino is trying to persuade his readers using different techniques. While reading "Why Read the Classics?", I noticed several rhetorical devices used. One that caught my eye was anaphora. Anaphora is repetition of a word at the beginning of consecutive sentences.

"4. A classic is a book with each rereading offers as much of a sense of discovery as the first reading.

5. A classic is a book which even when we read it for the first time gives the sense of reading something we have read before.

6. A classic is a book which has never exhausted all it has to say to its readers. Whereas definition 5 suggests a more elaborate formulation, such as this:"

All three of these sentences have the same few words in the beginning: "A classic is a book..." So this is just one rhetorical device I found in Calvino's essay. There are many many more, so check out the essay for yourself.

"Why Read the Classics?" #2

The author's tone of a novel or essay says a lot about that author. The readers' reaction could be negative or positive. Italo Calvino in "Why Read the Classics?" seems to have the opposite tone that Vladimir Nabokov had in "Good Readers and Good Writers". In comparing the two authors' tones, I noticed that Nabokov's tone was a bit harsh and demanding. However, Calvino's tone is much more genuine and nice. It seemed as though he was more interested in what he was doing than Nabokov was. Readers probably enjoy reading Calvino's writing as opposed to Nabokov's writing; I know I do. He is a lot more uplifting and positive. And that is definitely his tone in this essay. He is positive, encouraging, and he seems very intrigued in informing the readers. This is an excellent message to send the readers. This example is very good with showing how informative Calvino can be: "To reassure them, all one need to do is to point out that however wide-ranging any person's formative reading may be, there will always be an enormous number of fundamental works that one has not read." He telling the readers how to reassure themselves, not judging them or pushing them around. I believe that Italo Calvino is a great writer all because of the tone that he has established.

"Why Read the Classics?" #1

"Let us begin by putting forward some definitions.

1. The classics are those books about which you usually hear people saying: 'I'm rereading . . .', never 'I'm reading . . .'"

I believe that these first few sentences in the introduction are the thesis of this essay. It is informing the readers about what is to come, which is reading the classics and why it is so important to some people. So by this thesis I can comprehend that this essay will be about classic books and why it is so important and fascinating about them and why I should read them. It is also in the beginning of the introduction. This is the definition of a thesis, therefore, it must be a thesis. This thesis is implicit. The definition of implicit is something that is implied and not plainly expressed. So that means that the thesis is there, it is just not easy to see. And that is the case in "Why Read the Classics?". The thesis in this essay is a little bit harder to find than others. By rereading the first page like Vladimir Nabokov suggested in "Good Readers and Good Writers", eventually I found the thesis I was looking for.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #8

There are so many different reactions that people could feel when reading this essay by Vladimir Nabokov. I guess the first thing that came to my mind when reading this was emotion. Nabokov said some pretty harsh things and was being pushy. He was cocky and arrogant. "This lowly variety is not the kind of imagination I would like readers to use." This sentence shows how cocky Nabokov can be. He is ordering readers around telling them how to be imaginative. But then Nabokov has informational quotes just like these ones: "We ought to remain a little aloof and take pleasure in this aloofness while at the same time we keenly enjoy—passionately enjoy, enjoy with tears and shivers—the inner weave of a given masterpiece. However, I did notice that all of his writings were knowledgeable and informing." In this sentence he is suggesting more and is not really ordering readers around. It is also very informational. I guess you could say that my mood changed the more and more I read "Good Readers and Good Writers". I was pretty upset with the way Nabokov was sending out his information but more towards the end I learned to appreciate what he had to say. I noticed that he was just writing in a clever and creative way. He must be a very well respected writer.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #7

The author of an essay or a novel has a lot of authority. It all starts with decision making. The author gets to choose what he wants to put in his essay. He can choose on the thesis, the climax, the plot, the characters, the setting, and even more than that. For the point of view of the essay Nabokov decided to use first person. This means that he talks about himself and uses words such as I, me, my, and mine. One important decision that there is to be made by the author is the thesis. The thesis is pretty much the whole essay or novel wrapped up in one sentence. This is in the introduction so the reader knows what is ahead of them. The most important thing that the author has authority of is the plot. The plot is the plan of the essay, or what it consists of. If the author did not have this kind of authority, there would be no essay or novel. So Nabokov's decision of the plot was to write an essay that informed the readers about the skills of reading and writing. The author has a huge authority when it comes to writing, and that means making huge decisions.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #6

There are several methods one can use to start off an essay or an introduction. The six that come to mind are: Defining a Word or Phrase, Turn About, Asking Questions, Using an Anecdote, Using Quotation, and the Funnel Method. In "Good Readers and Good Writers", Vladimir Nabokov used the Using the Quotation method. A reader can figure this out just by reading the first paragraph of the essay. In the introduction this quote is used: "What a scholar one might be if one knew well only some half a dozen books." This quote suggests how better off one would be if he read. Another method that was used is Asking Question. "Can we expect to glean information about places and times from a novel?" was one question asked by Nabokov. He is asking if readers can except information in the novels given by the author.

As for the conclusion of the essay, I noticed that it was not as organized as the introduction and the rest of the essay. The last paragraph of the essay focuses more on the skills of being a good writer. It just emphasizes the four keys of being a good writer. It does not sum up the essay, or talks about the thesis. So there really is no conclusion paragraph for this essay.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #5

The way a writer organizes his essay says a lot about that writer. It is very important to be organized with your writing. There is no need to confuse the readers. There are four different types of organizing writing. And they are spatial, chronological, logical, and logical. Vladimir Nabokov organized his essay, "Good Readers and Good Writers" spatially. Spatial organization describes things because of where they are located and what they are related to. It has many details, helps to compare things, and gives directions. To start off, this essay gives directions on how to be a good reader. An excellent example is when Nabokov gives the little quiz he made up for the readers to take.This quiz is located on the second page of the essay. It has ten definitions of a good reader, and then you choose four that you think applies to being a good reader. So he is giving directions to the reader. Then it moves on to directions on how to be a good writer. It also compares these two skills. Therefore, Nabokov organized this essay using spatial organization. Mainly because he is giving directions to the readers and using great detail while doing it.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #4

I had many reactions to "Good Readers and Good Writers" when I first started reading it. I noticed that Vladimir Nabokov was being very pushy and as I said earlier, he thinks very highly of himself. On the other hand, he seems to know what he is doing and he is just trying to help spread his knowledge to others. I do not like the way he is presenting himself and his ideas, but I do respect his information. "Going back for a moment to our wolf-crying woodland little woolly fellow, we may put it this way: the magic of art was in the shadow of the wolf that he deliberately invented, his dream of the wolf; then the story of his tricks made a good story. When he perished at last, the story told about him acquired a good lesson in the dark around the campfire. But he was the little magician. He was the inventor." This quote from Nabokov was one of my favorites. I like how he used an example from a different book to prove one of his points. He used many different techniques and ideas. Another idea I also liked was the ten definitions of a reader. It showed me ten things I needed to have to become a good reader. Therefore, I have mixed reactions to Nabokov's essay. I like his information and knowledge, but I am not too fond of the way he presented it.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #3

A rhetorical device is a technique of writing that an author uses to effect or persuade the reader. "That mist is a mountain—and that mountain must be conquered. Up a trackless slope climbs the master artist, and at the top, on a windy ridge, whom do you think he meets? The panting and happy reader, and there they spontaneously embrace and are linked forever if the book lasts forever." states Nabokov. This is a hyperbole. Just one example of many of the rhetorical devices used in "Good Readers and Good Writers". A hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration, and in this quote it says that at the top of a mountain a man meets a happy reader. Which is very unlikely. Also, he states that the book lasts forever, and no book can last forever. Another rhetorical device used is a simile. Similes are very common; a comparison between two things using the words like or as. "There are three points of view from which a writer can be considered: he may be considered as a storyteller, as a teacher, and as an enchanter." This quote is comparing a writer to many things. It is also using the keyword, as. Those are just two examples of rhetorical devices used in this essay, and there are many more.

"Good Readers and Good Writers" #2

Vladimir Nabokov sets several tones in his essay "Good Readers and Good Writers". One can tell that Nabokov thinks very highly of himself. He thinks he is better than everyone else and everyone else should listen to what he has to say. Many quotes in this essay shows that Nabokov is arrogant and thinks he knows what he is doing. "Incidentally, I use the word reader very loosely. Curiously enough, one cannot read a book: one can only reread it. A good reader, and major reader, an active and creative reader is a rereader. And I shall tell you why." This is an excellent example of a quote said by Nabokov that shows how cocky he can be. This quote is him telling the reader what he thinks, or knows, what a good reader is. So he is right in every case, what he says is true! At least that is what Nabokov thinks. He is even cocky in his writing, and he makes sure to let it show. Another tone he has set is happiness. Nabokov is truly excited when it comes to reading and writing. He adds a lot of personality to his essay and this shows happiness. After reading this essay I know that Vladimir Nabokov is an arrogant and cocky writer that loves what he is writing about.