Journal 1:

When we were tasked to read “Consider the Lobster”, I was quite confused on what the whole goal or purpose of the article was about. But as I continued to read this piece by David Foster Wallace, I questioned a few things. 

If i could invite David Foster Wallace into one of our class discussions, I would ask him what his main goal was for this essay. While reading this, it was difficult to really understand his motive behind it because multiple times in this article, he states facts that either defend the MLF, or Maine Lobster Fair; or, he shames it with brutal facts about what really happens to the lobsters. Another question might ask is what side was he on. Like I said previously, It was very difficult to decipher what he really supported. Eating the lobsters, or petitioning against the MLF to ultimately be shut down.  

Personally, I feel that there are some limitations to a discussion; however, I also feel that if you are in a written discussion, you can stretch the boundaries to some larger issues. For instance, when David Foster Wallace was talking about how the killing of lobsters for our own pleasure was cruel and inhumane, that topic could also bring up ideas about how we do the same thing for these large chain food restaurants. As long as you are writing it, you can stretch the discussion as far as you want it to go. 

When anticipating the audience’s questions, the best way to go about it is to back up all of your statements with facts or information that best suits what you are writing about. Another way which I personally think is more fun is when you ask tons of questions for the audience to answer as a way of finishing the essay while still asking about personal thoughts and queries some of the audience might have.

Journal 2:

When writing an essay, or drafting a writing project, my process can be either very daunting or very relaxed. For instance, sometime in sophomore year of highschool, I had a paper due on a monday; but, I was starting the paper the afternoon before which can give you some nervous sweats and panic attacks if you don’t go about it the right way. On the other hand, there were times in senior year of highschool that I would start a massive and important paper either one or two weeks before the actual due date. This process is much better considering that the amount of stress put on you is reduced by a large amount. 

When I start one of these writing projects, I usually have a very generic and rough outline of what I am going to write about. Mainly important details and topics. This is similar to how I prepare for a final exam essay for an example. I like to dive straight into an essay sometimes just because I feel more spontaneous and it makes some of my writing more enjoyable and interesting. Most of the time for me, writing the thesis statement of an essay and tying that thesis to the conclusion paragraph is the most challenging part of the writing project. 

After I feel fairly confident about my essay, and I read it over a couple times, I try to find a peer or someone who is intelligent enough to make accurate corrections to help make my essay more intriguing and factual. Or if I am doing a last minute essay, I give it to my mother because she is fairly good at correcting my errors. 

Most of the time, this method of diving straight into an essay, or writing down important facts and details works for me. Especially when the peer review part comes around because this helps me understand my mistakes and become a better writer as well. I also enjoy reviewing other peer essays because it gives me an idea of how other people write and it betters my writing style to make it more fascinating and more unique to me.

Journal 3:

As I read through the chapter “Art of Quoting” in They Say I Say, I took an interest in certain statements and quotes, hence the chapter name. In the first couple pages of the chapter, the author that there are basically two types of writers when using quotes. The first writer is the one that doesn’t quote enough. The reasoning behind this is that the writer feels that his or her writing ability is much better than others and therefore does not need a quote, or the writer is just plain out lazy and does not want to go back to the text or interview to retrieve the quote. The other writer that lacks skill in using quotes is the one that uses too many quotes. These writers are the ones that typically are more shy or timid when writing because they feel that their words do not match up to somebody elses of a higher intellect. 

Another thing I found interesting is when writers put their quotes into essays and articles, but don’t explain them. Most think that their words preceding the quote are enough to explain the quote. But that’s not the case. Describing a quote is vital in any essay. This book also helps with that because it has examples of how to start describing how to start of a description.

 The final thing that caught my attention is more of an example that was used in this chapter. In the “Frame Every Quotation” segment of this chapter, they use an example of a quote that isn’t set up in the beginning. Susan Bordo is a woman that discovered an eating and dieting disorder in Fiji. This was a result of America and the U.K. filming in Fiji for specific televised programs. Although it really has no relation to the importance of this chapter or this journal, I found it interesting because the way Americans were portrayed drove people around the globe to classify themselves as fat and unhealthy. This caused an eating disorder in many people, especially women.

Journal 4:

In the article “The End of Food”, written by Lizzie Widdicombe, we learn that there may be an alternative to the substance we know as food. She starts off talking about how three engineering students were given one hundred and seventy thousand dollars to fund a plan they had to make inexpensive cell phone towers. However. That didn’t go as planned. When they reached their last seventy thousand, they seemed to be completely helpless. Until Robert Rhinehart came up with an idea to buy the important nutrients and substances found in the best of foods and put them into almost a protein shake. He called it “Soylent”. Personally, if I was Rhinehart, I would not choose a name that had a negative connotation. Rob got the idea of the name from a movie made in 1966, “Soylent Green”. This movie is based on a society that would turn old people into vital nutrients and food, and feed it to the young people without their knowledge. If certain people knew about this movie, it would probably drive them away from this “Soylent” product. But this product could provide some benefits as well. 

In the article it states, “A recent U.N. report warned that climate change is threatening the global food supply” (Widdicombe 5). This product can be potentially beneficial . Think about it, if you can actually get the vitamins and nutrients from this “grey stuff”, you potentially have a hack to life. When Widdicombe went to the headquarters and tried some soylent, she stated that she had already felt full after two sips. This one drink could basically fill you up in minutes. Which is mind boggling to think about. A drink that fills you up faster than food. 

This product may be the key to future food consumption. Although we don’t know the long term effects, it is probably safe to say that this protein-like drink can give you the sustenance you need for daily life and daily tasks.

Journal 5:

“They Say, I Say” is a book full of useful facts and resources for your writing needs. In one of the chapters, “Entering the Conversation”, it dives deep into how you should respond or add to in a conversation. 

This chapter was very useful, especially for me because of all the useful and helpful examples they used. Early on in the chapter, it uses some very important templates on how to put your comments, or somebody else’s comments into an essay. I like this because I am not particularly good at adding my thoughts fluidly into an essay or work of mine. These templates added a variety of more advanced ways to put my thoughts into an essay without making it seem random and out of place.

Something I found interesting was the example of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. It caught my attention because of the way King incorporated other people’s voices and words. He used the words of the eight clergymen who disapproved of his civil rights movement. He found a way to use their statements, summarize them, and then answered their critics all in one speech while sitting in jail which is very impressive. 

The final thing that caught my eye is the section “Putting in your oar”. I like this section because it sort of stretched the boundaries of this book. Although this book is supposed to improve your writing style, it is also trying to improve your personality as a whole. Instead of being a person who sits off to the side because you don’t know who to incorporate your comments into the conversation, this book will try to improve you as a person to be more confident with yourself. Although this is a book that is about writing skills, it also has ways to better yourself as a person which is pleasing because some people do need to practice their conversation skills because many people have something that could help somebody who needs it. 

Journal 6:

Journal 7:

During peer review, the comments I found most useful and helpful were the ones that critiqued my word choice and the information used in that specific statement. I found these comments worked the best because it gave me a chance to work on my writing to better suit my style; and, it let me know what information was needed and what information wasn’t really that important. 

The best advice or peer review that I offered my peers was similar to what they offered to me. It was basically writing structure and what information could be added or removed. Some of the writing skills lacked efficiency compared to other writers in the group, so my advice was based around the ones who lacked the skill.  

Some key things that were not mentioned was specifically how to improve our writing style, our referring to the group. It basically just talked about each others essay and if it was good or not, or if we needed to add or remove anything. But we never talked about how to make our essays better which could definitely be of some use, especially to me. 

One thing I wished would’ve come up while reading my peer review is what I could’ve added to my essay. I finished it off with just around 4 pages. I was hoping somebody would give me advice on what else I should add so it could make the essay just a little bit more intriguing.

This peer review and editing is somewhat similar to highschool. We would share our essays with each other and then review and comment on the essay. But, with two or three people commenting on your essay, it is definitely more useful because you get multiple viewpoints on what can be improved.   

Journal 8:

As I was reading the section “Starting With What Others Say”, I began to relate the example of Doctor. X’s speech to a different section. Previously, the class read a section that focused on how to incorporate other people’s words and speeches into one of your own. I found that this example of Dr. X related to that of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech while he was in prison. They both use other people’s words and respond to or critique them in their own way. I also found the templates were useful because sometimes, it is difficult for me to incorporate other words from different speakers without using a quote. They also gave me a way to sound more intellectual when writing and using these templates in a sentence. 

Journal 9:

I was the contributer.

Journal 10:

This article, “The Memories of Past Meals”, demonstrates a unique writing style. The reason I say this is because of writing in a journalistic way, or in an essay format, the author tells her stories of how she remembers these specific meals in paragraph format. There is never any side comments to add extra details to make it more interesting. She gets straight to the point, describing what the food is, and the memory associated with it. 

Personally, I find it quite entertaining when she describes these memories because each food has a personal connection with it. For instance, one that really stood out to me which can make lots of people sentimental is the watermelon boat with the shrimp cocktails placed inside. This is so impacting because it was a treat when her father brought out this wonderfully crafted piece of art; but, she never got to find out why he made it or where the idea came about due to the fact that her father died when she was a teenager. The reason I say this is because we never really process the fact that things don’t last forever and we should always savor the moment for all we can. 

Journal 11:

1. Page 4, Second paragraph:
   1. I agree with this paragraph because it has a lot of true statements. For starters, as time moves on and the gap of gender equality becomes smaller and smaller, the idea of cooking becomes less and less prominent. As women began to work full time, the act of cooking started to become a lot less used do to the fact that these people, both men and women, haven’t had enough time, or that they are just to lazy. This laziness theme is common amongst many American households. It has become so much easier to watch television on “The Food Network”, think about the food that they are making and talk about it without other people rather than actual going into the kitchen and making it. The thought of watching instead of doing is similar to the laziness theme everywhere, and this is what really controls thousands of americans households.
2. Page 5, Second paragraph: 
   1. In this paragraph, the author refers to a specific event in the “FrenchChef” when Julia child accidentally drops a potato pancake on her stove. She goes to flip it and it lands on the grill of her gas stove. She pauses for a second, and then grabs it and pieces the pancake back together. She then states “If you’re alone in the kitchen, “WHOOOO is going to see?” This thought of people are watching is what prevented many mothers in the 1940’s and 50’s to not cook. They always had the fear of messing up and it not being perfect on the first try. But, in reality, it takes practice to perfect something. The quote, “WHOOOO is going to see?” really started to motivate women across the country to start cooking in the kitchen. It gave women the ability to try things they hadn’t before which seemed to give them a sense of freedom from the unfair chains of gender equality.
3. Page 20 , Last Paragraph “quote”:
   1. This paragraph is a quote that states if Americans want to eat less, they should start to make their own food. I agree with this statement because most obese, especially morbidely obese people, order takeout foods or fast foods. This statement if Americans want to lose weight and eat less, they should start to make their own food. And for a lot of people, this is the case. They eat food nonstop from restaurants that contain ingredients that are known to make people gain weight. So when a person makes their own food, they know what’s going into it, and they begin to understand what is healthy and not. The idea of eating less and making their own food usually drives people to the path of healthy eating and healthy living.   

Journal 12:
Chapter fourteen of “They Say, I Say” is about how to interpret and read a writer’s words and to find out what their motive is. While reading this, it seemed to become a little confusing. It starts off by stating how we used to think about and read a work of literature. But then it dove deeper into the other ways we could interpret these words. For instance, it gave David Zincenko and his comparison example between how buying a porsche is responsible for giving elderly men a speeding ticket and suing McDonalds because you got fat by eating their food. At first glance, most people would assume that the author is strictly talking about how suing McDonalds is ridiculous. But, this chapter teaches us to dive deeper into the thought process of how to better understand the author’s words. After David’s first statement, he then goes into the second paragraph stating his personal beliefs on the situation. This chapter also teaches us how to figure out the “They Say” portion of a paragraph or essay. It gives us a different type of view in order to better understand the text. Sometimes, the “They Say” portion can stretch to a thought or idea that was previously brought about, thus creating a new conversation filled with different ideas and thoughts that branches off from the previous idea that was said. 

Journal 13:

When I was revising my essay for the first time, I really focused on the introduction. I tried to get really pull the reader in because that last time in my “What is food, really?” essay, it lacked vital points. However, I will still need to focus on the introduction because the thesis statement is where I struggle the most. In addition to the thesis, I also have a hard time connecting the thesis and the conclusion. 

In the main body of the essay, I spent a lot of time reworking the information I used after a quote. I tried to sort of transition the quote into the information after it to make it feel more structured and refined. 

Incorporating Michael Pollan’s essay was a bit of a struggle as well considering that it was only introduced once. Julia Child was the main theme of his essay and I really tried to stress that when writing it in my essay. 

Overall this writing process went a lot smoother. The second peer review group really helped me figure out what to add in order to make it sound better. They gave me information I really would not have thought of if I had revised it myself.

Journal 14:

The concept they talk about is quite a dark one. This cremation idea, to me at least, was one that I didn’t really think about too often. The thought of being burned to ashes has never crossed my mind. However, this podcast has really changed my mind. As I was listening, even the thought of being a mortician has never been so distant before. Handling dead bodies just seems like a very daunting process and experience. If you think about it, you are handling a person that has not a living part in them. You are handling them, like cleaning and washing their hair. But they do not respond or move or any such things. It is an immobile, lifeless mass laying there. Even Caitlin Doughty,the mortician in this podcast, stated that not all families need a mortician. It could be more peaceful and soothing to the family. In addition to that, putting people in the ground may be a little more relieving because instead of having a cremated family member in your home or in a shrine of some sort, you could have the person in a place they will be kept forever away from the family and close friends. To me, keeping that distance would really make a person grow a lot more spiritually and mentally. This podcast has really made me think of this notion of death in my family and in the world.

Journal 15:

Journal 16:

As I was reading “What the Crow Knows”, it began to seem like there was an overwhelming amount of information about specific animals and how they are interpreted and function. When it talks about the hospital, the author starts to explain how the paintings on the wall look. One has a medieval king that takes away a hawks food to save its life, yet the king cuts if his foot to feed the hawk anyway. I thought this was interesting because the “Jains” respect both humans and animals, yet they would sacrifice themselves for the animals. I personally thought this was an interesting topic. 

Another thing is that the author dives deep into the intelligence of the crowd and whether these said crows or other animals have a consciousness. Unlike many other birds, crows are some of the most intelligent creatures on the planet. In one observational study, it was stated that crowd have found a way to consume food just by putting nuts on the intersection of a stoplight. It was also studies how they react in certain situations. I could be said that crows actually think because in on test, a crow made a hook out of sticks to get its food without prior knowledge of the situation. 

There is also a part in the reading where it talks about the tests done in fish on whether or not they feel pain or have pain receptors. I thought this was interesting because it could be compared to the Maine Lobster Fest and how the author of that piece talked about how lobsters were still alive even in the pots and whether they felt pain and were conscious during that event. 

Journal 17:

Page 2 paragraph 4:

This paragraph represents how a connection with one animal can control your life. Carolyn had never had any practice or training with marine animals, but when she met the manatee snooty, there was an instant connection. This connection eventually created a problem in her life. She couldn’t go on vacations with her husband and eventually gave up on going anywhere because Snooty would stop eating completely. Carolyn was with Snooty for 20 years and her husband eventually said that she had loved the marine animal more than she loved him. 

Page 4 paragraph 6:

In this portion of the page, Herzog goes into detail of why wouldn’t we give the carcasses of deceased kittens to snakes instead of rats. For many people, this was a very big deal. We have this notion in our heads that kittens and cats are helpless creatures that we should care for at all times, very similar to dogs. When you mention feeding a dead carcass, a kitten out of all, there is a sickening feeling associated with it. It becomes quite a revolting topic when you think of it. 

Page 5 paragraphs 1,2, and 3:

This paragraph goes quite deep into a place nobody wants to go. Ron Neibor was studying cats and the brain reorganizes itself after injury. After he had completed his task at the beginning of the experiment, he eventually made a strong bond and connection with the kittens going into the college on the weekends and letting them out and playing with them. He eventually had to kill, severe the heads, and slice the brains of the kittens to finish his experiment. However, his whole mood and morale changed. Doing something like this can ruin a person’s life and change them for the worse, making them depressed and regret their decisions. 

Journal 18:

As I reread “Consider the Lobster”, I was hit with a wave of deja vu from the start of the semester. Except now, it seems that point of view on this topic has become wider and more open to new ideas. For instance, the first time I read this article, I never really considered why Wallace wrote it. Now, I understand that it was to enlighten people of the things we do to animals, not just lobsters, which is for the satisfaction of our starving stomachs. The way he was explaining both sides of the story really gave his article a very unique foundation. However, when I reread this and Journal 1, my views still remain the same. Even though I have much more knowledge from different topics and essays by other authors, the “Consider the Lobster” piece still means the same to me as the first time I read it. If I were to change anything in this essay, I would alter the way Wallace expresses his ideas. If he gave a little more personal incite on his view, it would give the article a much more meaningful feel. 

Journal 19:

When reading the “Playing the Naysayer in your Text” from “They Say I Say”, I was really drawn towards the templates they used in the text to portray examples of certain scenarios. The whole idea scheme behind introducing objections or arguments is extremely important in certain situations. For instance, if you were either writing a debate paper or presenting a debate, you’d want a strong argumentative foundation to debate on. These templates and examples are extremely useful for those types of events. 

Another thing I enjoyed from this text was the example it had about arguing with yourself. It brought up a really interesting point that I never really ever considered doing. The idea that you state one idea of your own, then contradict it with another idea of your own about the same topic really gives value to an essay. An example of this would be David Foster Wallace’s piece “Consider the Lobster” in which he expresses both anger for sympathy of the massive slaughter of the Maine Lobster Fest.  

Journal 20:

Journal 21:

Journal 22: