Responses

A Few Words About Breasts: I enjoyed this short story because it was extremely relatable. Almost every girl goes through what the author goes through so it was easy for me to imagine the situations she was talking about, and understand what point she was trying to make. However, at one point i found myself wondering why some of the detail she put in there was neccessary, i started to lose track of the story when she weighed it down with some details i felt weren't important too it. Otherwise, i enjoyed it but mostly i feel because i was able to identify with the author so well and because her use of humor and rhetorical questions kept me interested.

The Androgynous Male: I really enjoyed this story. Although i could not relate to it as much at first, i liked the way the author presented himself, and the details he gave promoted the story along with giving me insite into his thoughts to why he wrote this story. Also, i never really thought about how males try to conform themselves to roles. The fact that this author didn't makes me admire him and trust him more as an author. He really opened my eyes and convinced me of his arguement, by using details that are all around us and in his personal life, to support it. His closing sentence really makes you think, and want to change how the world is making gender roles.

MiniVan Motoring: I really also liked this story, the author builds his credibility quickly by talking about how many old cars he has owned and gone through. He also uses easy to understand language that seems to relate to our age group. He also uses facts and details from credible sources, other than himself to build his credibility and prove his point. I also like how he switches up topics, but still keeps the same general overview of coming back to his van, it keeps my attention and keeps me interested in each new experience he is writing about. The idea that he is able to do this while still tying is all back to the van is interesting. He also will sometimes hit you with a crazy fact that you werent expecting, such as hitting the deer. My only problem is that I wish he had finished the story a little bit more, and talked about what happened with the van in his conclusion.

Surviving the Mustard Lid Days: The first paragraph immediately draws you into the story and makes you want to keep reading it. I can also relate to what she says about memories, because that actually is what it is like, so it builds her credibility for me knowing i can relate. I liked how she used phrases like "killed us with kindness." Sometimes however i feel the author threw in facts unneeded for no reason. She builds her credibility again by tallking about how values are fused into her character. I liked how she talked about emotion and how it forced her to write, it was very detailed and interesting to read. That sentence was just really good. I didnt really like how it was almost like she wrote a concluding paragraph, and then kept going. Lastly, the two final paragraphs really really touched me as a reader, because it was almost like you could see in the words how much she loved her grandparents, and how much they effected her life and choices.