Listen to and take notes on “You Can’t Go Your Own Way” – a reading of an excerpt from Carmen Maria Machado’s memoir “In Their Dream House.”
*Warning: There is traumatic content in this piece, and there is language that might be upsetting. If you read the summary on the website and do not wish to proceed and listen, I can certainly find a replacement reading. Please let me know. -Prof. R
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Pay close attention to form. How does the way the story is organized (or constructed, or built) reinforce the themes of the story? Also, what do you think is enhanced by this reading/performance that might be different if you encountered this story in print, with no audio? What might be lost or gained or both?
Also: What about the writing strikes you? What do you see as most powerful about the narratives, descriptions, imagery, word choice (diction), argument, sentence structure, overarching essay structure, use of questions, or ________?
Write a page or two (double-spaced is fine) commenting on what 1-3 techniques you believe give the essay its power, its impact on a reader. Use short quotes from the essay to show evidence of the techniques you’re writing about.
Conclude with a paragraph describing your experience of reading the essay. What was challenging about it? What did you like about it? What did it make you think about?
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/703/stuck/act-two-8