Genre: Grade level

MICHAEL LIN

A Journey Through the Familiar: William T. Vollmann’s California In 2006, Sean Wilsey and Matt Weiland came up with an idea to write a book. It took them two years to pull together a collection of travelogues, detailed narratives, and encapsulating essays. State by State: a Panoramic Portrait of America, was to be a compilation Read more…

LEONA ZHOU

The ending of Book Four (The Two Towers) is abrupt and somewhat of a cliff-hanger. I think it’s kind of sad that Gollum didn’t have a better character development. I expected him to change into a better person because of Frodo’s kindness, but after all, he’s been wretched and wicked for quite a long time Read more…

NATHAN LUU

From Comfort to Despair: the Cozy Lairs of J.R.R. Tolkien In reading The Hobbit, one would think Tolkien to be a man of great comfort, as comfort is celebrated by most of the characters. When individuals read this extraordinary book, they would most likely do so while in a comfortable position, enhancing the book’s entertainment Read more…

MELODY LONG

Melody has just begun Intro to Rhetoric and is succeeding with her quick analyses of various state essays. Having read the preface by Matt Weiland, she understands the purpose of the book, and we can see here that she is responding to the standard set out by Weiland with brief reviews. Bechdel arranges her essay Read more…

MICHAEL LIN

Setting: A story’s support and meaning  By Michael Lin “Authors use setting to create meaning, just as painters use backgrounds and objects to render ideas.” ~Eudora Welty  Often overlooked and brushed past, setting is the main supporting column of any great story. Without setting, the characters wouldn’t have a place to be at all, anywhere, Read more…