Comments by Jailain Hollon Most recent public comments by Jailain Hollon https://nowcomment.com/users/13068 Use of background. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330643 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330643 The right amount of background provides clarity and context for the reader to understand the situation in the narrative. Too much background overshadows the situation that the narrative is trying to illustrate. In this paragraph, background helps the reader understand where certain people are and it positions them in context. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:49 -0500 The Observers of Sylvia Plath. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330630 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330630 The characters are being introduced as observers revealing moments of Sylvia Plath's life during her final days. An example of this was when Aurelia witnessed Sylvia rip the phone line out of the wall in a moment of anger. They are also introduced in ways that shows Sylvia's perspective regarding her inner thoughts toward certain people in her life. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:49 -0500 The phrase tells the reader that there was a high probability that Sylvia was on an antidepressant, but it does not say with absolute certainty that she was on an antidepressant. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330542 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330542 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:51 -0500 The phrase represents something that is symbolic of Sylvia being at the right place at the right time. "Destiny's doorstep" represents a pivotal moment where everything is coming together for Plath. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330538 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330538 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:50 -0500 The quotations help the reader personally connect with the subject through the use of the subject's own words. It gives the reader an understanding of what Plath felt as her marriage ended and as she coped with depression. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330531 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330531 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:50 -0500 The author presents the question to the reader as a strategy to keep them engaged. The author also does this to put the readers in the perspective of someone that felt abandon, therefore emphasizing their loneliness. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326427 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326427 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:45 -0500 Like the mother the author is short and to the point, it's like the author is paralleling the mother's decision to leave out the unnecessary aspects of the father's death. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326426 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326426 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:45 -0500 The phrase "cloud of dust" is a metaphor filled with imagery. The "cloud of dust" references the literal aspect of moving into a desert like setting, whereas it also describes the clout of uncertainty interfering with her childhood. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326425 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326425 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:45 -0500 It's all about the right choice of words, "perhaps" implies a passive yet small amount of doubt on Mildred's depression. Whereas "likely" places an emphasis on certainty, which implies that Mildred was actually depressed. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326424 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326424 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:45 -0500 The interviewer is mentioned here to give the dialogue a source of credibility. Furthermore, the author mentions the interviewer to give Sontag her own personal point of view, and so the reader can make their own interpretations from her quote. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326423 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326423 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:45 -0500 The author's use of the word "you" is to engage with the reader and provide some comedic entertainment for them. It also severs as a method of bonding with the reader over the authors experience and the subject, Sylvia Plath. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323383 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323383 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:40 -0500 Setting up the perspective of an American foreigner. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323382 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323382 There are a few setups in this paragraph, one is setting up the authors personal experience in dealing with the way people in a foreign country view him as an American. The other is a general setup to how people in native countries view foreigners that are vastly different from them. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:39 -0500 The author is defining himself by looking back retrospectively and analyzing his experience walking in Sylvia Plath's shoes. By reminiscing about the past he's giving his original journey in Plath's shoes another look. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323371 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323371 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:39 -0500 A New York and London contrast. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323362 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323362 The author has established that he is a native from New York and that he has noticed a contrast between the two cities. The contrast the author makes is the difference between the people of London by describing them as orderly, and describing the people of New York as a "free for all". The author is amused by his observation and the contrast between the two cities. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:39 -0500 You make an interesting point about Ishmael's alternative to lashing out at people because of his depression and his darker emotions. I think this is an example of his passive behavior, in the sense that he can't act on those darker emotions. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321808 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321808 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:36 -0500 Even though I agree that he's foreshadowing his death at sea, I don't think that's the only reference he's making. I think that Ishmael is contrasting the violent suicide of Cato to his passive way of committing suicide. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321807 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321807 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:36 -0500 A quiet suicide reference. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321806 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321806 Melville references Cato because Cato committed suicide by throwing himself on to his own sword ending his life violently. Cato's gruesome demise contrasts Ishmael's suicide because Ishmael quietly takes the ship anticipating his death by the sea, whereas Cato's death was dramatic. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:36 -0500 Solidarity. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321805 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321805 I think that Ishmael is mentioning this because he feels that he's been longing for unity and solidarity with that is meaningful to his existence in life. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:37 -0500 Making a biblical reference. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321803 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321803 By calling himself Ishmael the narrator is doing two things; one being informal, and two he is creating a biblical reference to a person that he identifies with the most from the bible, Ishmael. So by calling himself Ishmael the narrator is referring to himself as a biblical character in the Book of Genesis. The narrator seems will be paralleling his own story to that of Ismael's in the Bible, referencing his suffering and his survival. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:36 -0500 Ishmael's state of mind https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321801 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321801 The state of mind that drives Ishmael off land is his depression, Ishmael is tired of working and struggling to the point that he is suicidal. Even on land he can't escape those feelings and he probably believes that venturing off to sea would be the best way for him to live. Ishmael see's that going out to sea is the best way for him to escape living. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:36 -0500 Jill and Michael's relationship. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317289 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317289 The details tell you how important Jill was to Michael's being. With Jill, Michael was constantly organized and tidy, and without his wife Michael was the complete opposite. The paragraph says a lot more about Jill and her relationship with Michael than about being messy or not. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:27 -0500 The Biographer https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317284 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317284 The biographer is half of the story because the biographer narrates and decides what aspect of the subject's life is important. The biographer would mold the subject's life with their objective interpretation of them, and they would choose what narrative elements to tell about the subject's life. Whether they use dialogue as a perspective from other people, or they use a specific vocabulary, the biographer uses their voice to tell the story of their subject's life. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:27 -0500 Passiveness or Faith https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317276 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317276 I've learned that Michael had a passive attitude about the other men that were interested in his wife. However it seems as if Michael didn't care that other men pursued Jill, and the fact that Michael didn't confront Jill about these men showed me that he always had faith in his relationship with Jill. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:27 -0500 The dialogue gives us a direct point of view from the interviewees. Because of the dialogue we have the direct perspectives from the people in Michael's life like Julie and Mervyn. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317272 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317272 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:27 -0500 A lot of questions do come to mind. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315983 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315983 I agree with your sentiment about civilization going against nature and at the same time being drawn to it. When I first read the passage Hardy's description of civilization seemed like it was erratic, but after analyzing it I think civilization is ambivalent because of that inconsistent relationship with nature. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:26 -0500 You make a great point about nature being always as it has been, a constant, and I think here is where you can say that civilization is somewhat ambivalent because it's always changing. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315982 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315982 Sat, 07 Mar 2015 00:21:02 -0500 Nature and civilization clash https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315971 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315971 The contrast between nature and civilization is that nature is a constant and civilization is erratic. Hardy sets up the contrast between the erratic civilization and nature by referencing nature to the "antique brown dress" and by calling civilization an enemy. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:26 -0500 The Return of the Native https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315745 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315745 Before reading the text the title make me think of a person that is returning to their original place of origin. Furthermore the title makes me think that the person returning that has been away and is coming home from a long journey. Sat, 07 Mar 2015 00:21:02 -0500 Leave out the boring parts and kill your darlings. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30612?scroll_to=314061 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30612?scroll_to=314061 Rule number 17 is one of the more interesting rules on this list because it seems like a great alternative to filing space. I find that this rule is a great way to stay focused when you become bored with some parts of your story and killing off a character is an excellent alternative. As morbid as that may seem it does change the tone of the story and it gives you something new to work with in your story. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:19 -0500 Jailain's Top 20 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30612?scroll_to=314057 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30612?scroll_to=314057 1) Writing is about getting happy 2) Don’t worry about making other people happy 3) First write for yourself, and then worry about the audience 4) Write one word at a time 5) Stick to your own style 6) You become a writer simply by reading and writing 7) Read, read, read 8) The research shouldn’t overshadow the story 9) Dig 10) There are two secrets to success 11) Leave out the boring parts and kill your darlings 12) Don’t use passive voice 13) Turn off the TV 14) Eliminate distraction 15) But don’t obsess over perfect grammar 16) Avoid adverbs 17) Avoid adverbs, especially after “he said” and “she said.” 18) Take a break 19) The magic is in you 20) You have three months I would add: - Go there. Meaning that writers shouldn't create so many boundaries for themselves. For example, if you have the idea of killing off an important character then you should do it. - Don't give your protagonist easy choices or bail them out with a convenient occurrence of events. - Don't censor your writing. - Write with passion, if you have an emotion use it as a tool and write with it. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:19 -0500