Essay Packet #1

     Reading this essay packet has really opened my eyes to the different types of elements that could be found in essay writing. Your essay can be non fiction or fiction, but even when it is non fiction you can find hints of non fiction through out the essay. In the essay Mint Snowball you can see some fiction in the line, "The mint snowball tasted like winter". The snow ball didn't really taste like winter, winter doesn't have a taste, but when described like this you get a feeling of a cold winter night.Using fiction elements allows you to use your imagination. I believe this pulls you into the essays even more and allows you to better connect. You can also find hints of poetry in some of these essays. A really good example of this would be the essay Red: An Invocation. The first time I read this essay I found my self thinking it could actually be a long poem. The last line of the essay to me was really poetic, "As the fox slipped away. And yes, I lead my child into that day". I don't know if it was because these last two sentences rhymed, but it sound like it came right out of a well written poem. I think it is cool how different forms of writing still pull from other elements of writing to make the pieces stronger.
     In this packet there was an essay that really stood out to me called Things to Do Today. This essay stood out to me because its structure was very different from any other essay I have read. This essay was written in a numbered list form instead of a paragraph structure. It was still interesting for me to read though because I could still get a sense of story from it. I also liked how some things on the list were real life goals as to where others were so far stretched. Number 17 on the list was to recall mother, which is something you could easily do by thinking up past memories of your mother. As to where number 3 which is destroy the capital with picturesque caress. I thought this combination made the essay more humorous.
    The essay Total Eclipse really caught my attention while reading it. One thing I really liked how it was written in phases, one through 4. It was almost like the different phases of an eclipse. I also liked how detailed the essay was. It was almost like you where up on that hill top with all the other viewers and you could really see the eclipse for the first time. The author also brought in and compared a partial eclipses. This made you feel like you were actually learning something while reading the essay. One thing I found myself not liking about this essay was it almost had too much details to me. There was a whole paragraph in the beginning of the essay about a clown picture at the hotel at which there where staying. It was a well written paragraph, but to me it could have been cut out and the essay would have remand the same. Overall I did enjoy this essay.