Genre: State by State

Student: | Grade Level: 10th Genre: State by State | Date: April 25, 2012

ROBERT C

The author for the state of Alaska is Paul Greenberg, a critic and editorialist for the New York Times. As he travels through Alaska, Greenberg provides his story and goes into fine detail to describe to the reader what he sees. At times, the story seems promising. When Greenberg lands in Alaska, he encounters a Grand Aviation dispatcher who tells him, “If you’re here to write an article, you’ve got a lot of material.” The reader is filled with hope. What will they learn about the largest state in the United States … what does “a lot of material” refer to? Unfortunately, Greenberg does not pursue Alaska’s scope and variety any further; instead, he chooses to focus on the two friends that he meets in Alaska. Greenberg goes simply through his journey in Alaska: his conversation with Jac upon arrival, his meditations on Alaska’s Yu’pik Eskimos and nature, his fishing journey with Jac’s friend Ray’s family, his conversation with Jac after his return, and his departure from Alaska. This essay seems like a casual run-down of events relayed by Greenberg to the reader – in fact, it seems more like “Why I Live at the P.O.” by Eudora Welty than an informative essay.

Student: | Grade Level: 8th Genre: State by State | Date: March 31, 2012

JESSICA C

State by State is a collection of 50 mostly personal essays, each about one of the 50 states of the U.S. According to one of the editors, Matt Weiland, “This book started with a hunch and a conviction.” While there are numerous blogs, books, documentaries, and songs about the American states, it still takes a disaster of some sort to remind us about the rest of the country, not just where we live. For example, it took 9/11 for us to remember the fragility of the Twin Towers, the Great Depression to remind us of our erratic stock market, and the effects of Hurricane Hugo to remind us of the seemingly indestructible architecture in South Carolina’s capital. Upheaval is revealed to be a changing force in our lives. For example, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the lifestyles of the people of Louisiana until they were able to reconstruct the thousands of buildings destroyed during the Category 5 hurricane. For the people of South Carolina, more specifically Charleston, this hurricane was Hurricane Hugo.