The Personal Narratives Written By Beller And Thurber
Luc Brubaker
Professor Kozak
English 110
Reading Journal 2
10 September 2012
Reading Journal 2, Prompt 3
Though the personal narratives written by Beller and Thurber were fairly short, they still revealed a lot about themselves, which essentially affected the experience of the reader. Through Thurber’s words, the reader gets a sense of who he was during his “University Days” by his many stories of the classes he claims he didn’t like. Beller on the other hand, reveals himself by his sense of style and description of the different unimportant articles of clothing. Both Beller and Thurber however use anecdotes to draw the reader in so there is a possibility of a connection, thus altering the reader’s experience from what it would be like for them to just explain their point very dully. Right from the beginning of University Days, Thurber shares an amusing experience that grabs the readers attention immediately. Rather than just telling the reader his dislike for each class, he begins by saying “I passed all the other courses that I took at my university, but I could never pass botany. This was because all botany students had to spend several hours a week in a laboratory looking through a microscope at plant cells, and I could never see through a microscope”(Thurber 26). From this, Thurber reveals his point of having some troubles with certain classes, but in a way where the reader finds it humorous and in a way where some readers might be able to relate. If Thurber were to just say he didn’t pass botany and economics and just left it at that, the reader wouldn’t be as engaged, nor would the reader actually understand what he had to go through. By revealing his struggles first hand, the reader is easily able to connect and thus have a better reading experience. With Beller, he reveals his style and clothing dilemma to the reader through a quick anecdote about the “death” of one of his favorite shirts. From the start, the reader can relate to his story because he
Professor Kozak
English 110
Reading Journal 2
10 September 2012
Reading Journal 2, Prompt 3
Though the personal narratives written by Beller and Thurber were fairly short, they still revealed a lot about themselves, which essentially affected the experience of the reader. Through Thurber’s words, the reader gets a sense of who he was during his “University Days” by his many stories of the classes he claims he didn’t like. Beller on the other hand, reveals himself by his sense of style and description of the different unimportant articles of clothing. Both Beller and Thurber however use anecdotes to draw the reader in so there is a possibility of a connection, thus altering the reader’s experience from what it would be like for them to just explain their point very dully. Right from the beginning of University Days, Thurber shares an amusing experience that grabs the readers attention immediately. Rather than just telling the reader his dislike for each class, he begins by saying “I passed all the other courses that I took at my university, but I could never pass botany. This was because all botany students had to spend several hours a week in a laboratory looking through a microscope at plant cells, and I could never see through a microscope”(Thurber 26). From this, Thurber reveals his point of having some troubles with certain classes, but in a way where the reader finds it humorous and in a way where some readers might be able to relate. If Thurber were to just say he didn’t pass botany and economics and just left it at that, the reader wouldn’t be as engaged, nor would the reader actually understand what he had to go through. By revealing his struggles first hand, the reader is easily able to connect and thus have a better reading experience. With Beller, he reveals his style and clothing dilemma to the reader through a quick anecdote about the “death” of one of his favorite shirts. From the start, the reader can relate to his story because he