Personal Experience Essays - , Term Papers

Personal Experience 8:02 a.m. Saturday. It's still dark, as usual, on these cold, winter days. Everybody else is still sleeping and enjoying the comfprting heat of their beds. I crack open the locked window by my bed, an act some deemed downright idiotic. I strip off my pj's, throw on my robe, and head for the shower. Drying off, I think about where I am abou to go. I dress piece by layered piece. I can't wait to hit the slopes! I round up my tools: body, boards, boots, bindings. Everything is in working order and ready for take- off. As I open the front door, I am shocked by the cold and fight my way through the wind to my car. I turn the key and put the heater on full blast. I am almost there. I step out of my car and survey the parking lot. Not too many cars. That's the way I like it. I take a deep breath and savor the frsh air. Already, I can feel the pressure of deadlines lifted off my chest. I strap my skis on, and prepare not just to tackle a run but other situations in my life as well. I skate over to the first pitch of the double diamond slope, and map out where I will take the first couple turns. It is almost like I am assessing my goals in life: getting accepted into Syracuse, owning a house in Colorado, raising a healthy family. I appreciate the sound of carving the first turn as if it was my very last. The crunching of the snow under my feet empowers me to crush the antagonists in my everyday life. The second and third turns secure my self- confidence. Only with the fourth turn do I start to realize that things are not always that easy. I heard it said often, "It's easier said than done." I never believed it until now. I only skid slightly over a patch of ice, but it is enough to start my heart thumping. I am suddenly aware that to finish this run or to reach my goals, I have to be ready for the tricky spots. I know that at any moment I could fall and be forced to start over. My lifetime goals can be affected by any number of things - grades slipping, drugs and alcohol - and I have to be ready to handle anything. I clear my mind of all fear and continue through turns, but with more caution. Once the focus of my goal is on track, I persevere to attain it. I quickly aquire my rhythm. I become more determined. Now, I take sharper, shorter turns. I glide swiftly toward the chairlift just now appearing in my sights. I know that through hard work I can achieve these realistic goals! I am almost there! I thrill at the prospect of conquering this hill. I feel proud of myself. I am gratified to know that I can accomplish a goal endurance. I can achieve despite the many ice patches I encounter. I ride the lift back to my car. I only came for one run, the run to help me survive the week. I drive home grinning ear to ear.

Foreshadowing in Narratives

Foreshadowing in Narratives Foreshadowing (for-SHA-doe-ing) is the presentation of details, characters, or incidents in a narrative in such a way that later events are prepared for (or shadowed forth). Foreshadowing, says Paula LaRocque, can be a highly effective means of preparing the reader for what is to come. This storytelling device can create interest, build suspense, and provoke curiosity (​The Book on Writing, 2003). In nonfiction, says author William Noble, foreshadowing works well, so long as we stay with the facts and not impute motivation or circumstance that never happened (The Portable Writers Conference, 2007). Examples and Observations In the opening of The Wizard of Oz, set in Kansas, the transformation of Miss Gulch into a witch on a broomstick foreshadows her reappearance as Dorothys enemy in Oz.The witches in the opening scene of Shakespeares Macbeth foreshadow the evil events that will follow.[In My Journey to Lhasa, Alexandra] David-Neel . . . creates suspense with present tense, we look as if we are starting for a mere tour of a week or two, and foreshadowing, these spoons became, later on, the occasion of a short drama in which I nearly killed a man.(Lynda G. Adamson,  Thematic Guide to Popular Nonfiction. Greenwood, 2006) Foreshadowing as a Form of "Backwriting" Foreshadowing can be, in fact, a form of back writing. The writer goes back through the copy and adds foreshadowing to prepare the reader for later events... This does not mean that you are going to give away the ending. Think of foreshadowing as setup. The best foreshadowing is subtle and is woven into the storyoften in multiple ways. In this fashion, foreshadowing helps build tension and gives resonance and power to the story. (Lynn Franklin, Literary Theft: Taking Techniques From the Classics. The Journalists Craft: A Guide to Writing Better Stories, ed. by Dennis Jackson and John Sweeney. Allworth, 2002) Foreshadowing in Nonfiction With nonfiction, foreshadowing works well, so long as we stay with the facts and not impute motivation or circumstance that never happened. . . . No he should have thought... or she might have expected... unless we back it up factually.(William Noble, Writing NonfictionUsing Fiction. The Portable Writers Conference, ed. by Stephen Blake Mettee. Quill Driver Books, 2007) [Alexandra] David-Neels seven chapters [in My Journey to Lhasa: The Classic Story of the Only Western Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden City] describe harrowing travel to Thibet* and Lhasa. She creates suspense with present tense, we look as if we are starting for a mere tour of a week or two, and foreshadowing, these spoons became, later on, the occasion of a short drama in which I nearly killed a man.(Lynda G. Adamson, Thematic Guide to Popular Nonfiction. Greenwood Press, 2006) * variant spelling of Tibet Chekhov's Gun In dramatic literature, [foreshadowing] inherits the name Chekhovs Gun. In a letter, he penned in 1889, Russian playwright Anton Chekhov wrote: One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it. Foreshadowing can work not only in narrative forms but also in persuasive writing. A good column or essay has a point, often revealed at the end. Which details can you place early to foreshadow your conclusion? (Roy Peter Clark, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. Little, Brown, 2006)

From the Baroque Period through the Romantic Age Essay

From the Baroque Period through the Romantic Age - Essay Example The self-indulgent administration of French kings Louis V and Louis VI created a pleasure-seeking technique identified as rococo. The etymological meaning of rococo is the French word rocaille, denoting a shell or a conch, which was the principal theme of rococo art. Rococo was, in general, an upper-class art, with the focus comprised of gentlemen and ladies of relaxation spending their time in chivalrous gratification. It is considered to be mischievously erotic. It was at some point in the era of neoclassicism, during the governance of Louis XIV, that the French Academy was established. This built the foundations of classicism – with its reverence of olden days and its ceremonial discipline – as the authorized approach of the administration. Painters and sculptors who wish the official support labored in this technique until it was condensed to dry procedure and turned out to be spiritless and intellectual. Whereas the descendants of Louis XIV, there was a reduced amo unt of firm centralization of state supremacy, and classicism in France surrendered to the rococo style. With the period of influence of Napoleon, classicism, with its prominence on proper regulation and its renewal of olden days, once more materialized as the authorized technique. A response in opposition to rococo ornateness, also served the goals of the latest government by acclaiming the civic and nationalistic qualities of the early Romans for the personification of the public. Romanticism as an artistic style followed the French Revolution.