...Chelsea Trevelyan Dr. Underwood English 1102 2 March 2014 A New Perspective A Glance into the Nonfiction Novel Genre “The best nonfiction recognizes the impossibility of perfect representation, the dream of the 1:1 ratio,” (Sharlet). What Jeff Sharlet means in this quote is that facts cannot be perfectly represented, regardless of any type of imagery or descriptions, so a good nonfiction work uses only what is needed to get the message across. Beginning in the 20th century, many nonfiction writers would even look towards fiction for the resources to describe what was considered impossible to describe (Taylor). One way writers have been able to do this is through nonfiction novels. A nonfiction novel is a narrative, of book-length, that unfolds actual events and actual people written in the style of a novel (“Nonfiction Novel”). This style of a novel implies that the book being spoken of can be looked at as art as well as fact (Sharlet). In the mid 1960’s, a nonfiction novel journey began, beginning with the narrative journalistic qualities of Truman Capote, continuing with the story telling of such authors as Norman Mailer, and then continues to stay constant throughout present day literature with works like Katherine Boo’s display of immersion journalism. Truman Capote is said to have invented this new genre in 1966 with, what some call his finest work, the book In Cold Blood (“Truman Capote”). In Cold Blood details the 1959 murders of Herbert Clutter, his wife, and two...
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...Perseverance is the trait of never giving up no matter how hard the journey becomes. I’ve used perseverance to get through this work myself, and throughout the assignment, I’ve learned more and more from the experience. One of the things I’ve learned, is people have had a much harder time just trying to live their life, and that if I ever feel like I should give up, I should remember that there are people who have had a much harder experience than what I am experiencing, and that even they never gave up. Another thing I learned, is just how many historical figures have used perseverance in their life because they were prosecuted by some person, whether it be themselves, society, or just one person. The last thing I learned comes from an experience...
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...The Importance of Hope and Perseverance These three pieces of literature are not only meant to entertain, but they also bring to light the importance of retaining hope and perseverance through even the most arduous times. Hillenbrand, Laura. Unbroken. Random House, 2010. Print. Unbroken, the true story of Louis Zamperini, know by his friends as Louie, and how he goes from a troubled child, to an Olympic athlete, to being stranded at sea. As a young child Louie was very mischievous; he was drinking, smoking, and stealing all before he was 10 years old. To keep him out of trouble, Louie’s brother got him to join the track team. Little did he know, Louie had the potential to be a tremendous runner. After countless hours of strenuous practice Louie was on his way to the Olympics where we would place 8th with the fastest American time of the year. Soon after, Louie was drafted into the war, where he was a crew member for a B-27 bomber, one of the most dangerous and difficult planes to fly. While on a rescue mission, an engine on the plane gives out and strands Louie and two of the other crew members (Phillip and Mac) in the ocean for 47 days. Mac, dies on the 33rd day while Zamperini and Phillip are captured by the Japanese. Zamperini and the other crew member are separated and are sent to prisoner-of-war (POW) camps where they are tortured and abused for the next two years, until the war finally ends. These events leave Louie scarred and broken; however, one day, his newfound wife...
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...“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” The famous innovator, Thomas Edison, could not have summed up perseverance any better (INSERT CITATION). I define perseverance as the ability to continue on one’s path despite the obstacles that are thrown in the person’s way. The perfect example of perseverance would be a hurdler in the sport track and field. The event's objective is to proceed past all of the obstacles that are placed in the hurdler’s way. Whoever can reach to the finish line the fastest is dubbed the title of winner and awarded a medal or ribbon. Most people avoid participating in hurdle events because of their fear of stumbling over the hurdles. Surprisingly, when competing in hurdle events there is no penalty for hitting or knocking over the hurdle, but often times, when a runner stumbles over a hurdle he or she decides not to finish the race. For those runners that decide to continue the race, they demonstrate true perseverance. Pain, humiliation, discouragement, and anger are all emotions that can be associated with messing up during a race, but suppressing all of those emotions in order to continue towards the finish line takes great strength. Without finishing the race, the runner is not able to know if he or she had what it took to push through and win the race. Life’s failures are just as important as successes. Winning is a wonderful accomplishment, but winning is not everything but “Winning is...
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...Creative use of Techniques usually Associated with Fiction In both the two articles, the authors employ creative nonfiction to discuss the death of Aiyana and the rape of Officer Blumer. The situations in both the articles are real occurrence, but the storyline appears as an imaginary plot. Ultimately, the two essays convey the information in a way that makes it appear as fiction. The paper seeks to identify the creative use of techniques usually associated with fiction that are involved in the story development of these two articles. Some of these techniques include the use of subjective, personal voice, the development of strong characters and the creation of tension and suspense. In both the two articles, the authors use subjective journalism where they involve their views into conveying the reality in a way that they want to manipulate the readers. In an article by Sabrina Rubin, the author describes how Rebecca Blumer was raped by three army men. The military officers did not treat this case kindly as they discouraged her from asking for a rape kit and failed to collect forensic evidence. Finally, her skyrocketing military job came to an end. Although it may be a factual narrative, the author reports only one side of the story; about the military’s culture of rape. Consequently, Rebecca allegations could have been a hoax. On the other hand, Charlie, the author of “What Killed Jones?” is also subjective especially where he blames abject poverty on the death of a young girl...
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...Three people that demonstrate courage and resilience are Dr. Seuss, Katy Perry, and Miley Cyrus. Dr. Seuss showed courage and resilience by creating books for children. His first book was rejected by 27 different publishers. Even though he had many problems he didn’t give up. The text states that “Theodor Seuss Geisel was a German-American author, political cartoonist, poet, animator, book publisher, and artist, best known for authoring more than 60 children's books under the pen name Dr. Seuss.”Dr. Suess was born on March 2 1904. He published his first book in 1937 under the name of Dr. Seuss. In conclusion he has showed courage and resilience in many ways. Katy Perry also showed courage and resilience by after singing in church during...
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...reading for your own enjoyment, you'll probably want to pick a general interest fiction or nonfiction book. There are literally millions of such books, so finding one that's right for you can be challenging. A good place to start is by thinking about what you like, and also about what you don't like. Keep in mind how many different types of books are out there. There are dystopian books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. There are realistic fiction books such as Perfect by Natasha Friend. There are fantasy books like The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer. There are historical fiction books like Dragonwings by Laurence Yep, and so many others. Knowing your personal taste can really help you find a book you'll find enjoyable. Just because someone else says a book is good doesn't mean you'll necessarily enjoy it. Some people enjoy fantasy novels, other people hate them. Think about what kind of an experience you want to have while reading. Do you want a rousing adventure tale? A cerebral exploration of ideas? An emotional journey through the lives of believable characters? How long of a book do you want to read? How challenging do you want it to be? Are there certain perspectives you want your book to embrace or avoid? Answering these questions will narrow down the field of possible books. Nonfiction books can be a little easier to narrow down than fiction ones. Most popular nonfiction books are histories or biographies of famous people. Is there a famous person you'd like to...
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...John Doe English 112P 4 November 2009 Historical Perspective on The Hot Zone The Hot Zone by Richard Preston is a nonfiction book with aspects of a novel. Sometimes called a bio-thriller, it is about the Ebola virus in America. It was written to address a time of fear about viruses in the United States in a time of increased international interaction. Although its impact is negligible, it reflects the nervous attitude of the time. Richard Preston writes narrative nonfiction. Narrative nonfiction is a hybrid style of writing that utilizes the framework of nonfiction with aspects of a novel, dialogue, for instance. Preston favors this style and wrote his dissertation on it during his graduate studies in Princeton. Previously, Preston wrote non-fiction on science such as Astronomy and on History; later his focus shifts to the science of Microbiology. In 1992 Richard Preston wrote an article in The New Yorker, entitled “Crisis in the Hot Zone.” Two years later, this article became the foundation for his non-fiction book, The Hot Zone, which documents the appearance of Ebola in the United States during the late eighties. At the time The Hot Zone was conceived, free trade policies during President George H. W. Bush’s administration were still making an impact worldwide. Bush set forth global objectives, renewing an interest in globalization under the belief that a global market will alleviate America’s growing deficit. Furthermore, he spearheaded the construction of North...
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...What is Your Writing Process Like? As a writer I love making stories and there are many steps to go through before the story becomes a fluent piece of literature. My writing process isn’t very complicated, when I write I let out all my ideas. I let my creative side come out and write out everything that crosses my mind, it doesn’t matter if it comes together right away I just let my creative side take control. My mind goes through many steps when I write I have to think of what kind of story I want to write and what the story will mean to me, then I have to brainstorm and type out some main parts for my story, lastly I organize everything to make an actual story. In story writing I have to find something to write about and to write your story...
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...present a cross-section of the current conversations taking place around the way memoirs affect the writers who publish them. Based on my research, it appears that the effects tend to involve emotional and psychological consequences, as well as legal troubles in some instances. The discovery of this conversation helped me to refine my research topic into the question, “Do the benefits of publishing a memoir outweigh the risks of their effects for writers?” This research explores the positive and negative effects of memoirs on their writers to determine whether or not the risks are worth the rewards. Although writing a memoir can result in lawsuits and family discord, it more often proves to be therapeutic and can be the starting point of a nonfiction writer's career. What if I told you that memoirs are incredibly important to our society, because they document the human experience in such an honest way? Although they are valuable, they can also be risky. One key issue is that a memoir’s admissions risk causing major drama for writers, including legal trouble. In addition, they can be a catalyst for burning bridges with former employees. They can also potentially destroy long-term personal relationships. In this paper, I work to discover if it is worth all the drama to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As I began my research, I initially uncovered several negative aspects of writing a memoir. One such risk is the potential for legal troubles. Writer and...
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...her lifetime partner. They both shared their interest in human rights and justice. Jack and Tillie had four daughters, Karla, Julie, Kathie and Laurie. The living conditions of raising a family while being a political activist disabled Tillie to continue her writing. However while living in San Francisco, she began to be recognize for her hard work against racism, women’s right, anti-war and for the safety of the individuals. To give even more recognition for her charity, the Mayor Dianne Feinstein declared a Tillie Olsen day. (“Olsen”). In 1954, at the age of 42, Tillie attended classes at San Francisco State College which enabled her to resume her writing. Motivated by her professors, she appealed for a Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Creative writing in which she later obtained from Stanford University. A year later, Tillie then took into...
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...Correspondingly is the work of studying. Throughout years of school, students can find that without the repetition of studying, one will not reap the benefits of furthering their education. Lack of practice and efficiency leads to a lack of growth, which is exactly what Bradbury attempted to portray. He tells of how he would write a minimum of one-thousand words a day, simply to allow himself to maintain his talent. Bradbury shares a love for writing that many individuals have trouble finding throughout their lifetime, yet he found his love at a young age and carried it throughout the years. Without writers, such as Bradbury, readers could not have found their favorite science fiction book, they would be reading strictly biographies and nonfiction that they could find on the shelves of a nearby library. Bradbury, as well as others, did not just bring a source of entertainment, but a newfound love for all...
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...junior year, I haven't written any narrative pieces, in any classes. The focus throughout my high school curriculum has been toward argumentative, analysis, and informative writings. Only in my junior year did I write my first creative writings in the form of a short story and a poem. The first creative writing I had to write a "Vomit" Draft. A vomit draft was the very first draft of a paper with little to no guidelines. "Bring two minutes to life" was the only instruction. We had to throw down 500 words without paying any real attention to punctuation or grammar. This kind of freedom associated with such creative writing was an alien concept to me. Getting used to writing without a structure that we had to follow, without a set of guidelines we had to abide by took a while. But, this kind of writing really helped me learn and improve, not just my writings, my organization and my time management skills as well. Knowing that I had to write such a demanding paper (it turned out to be fourteen pages longs), I had to improve my time management skills, which, up till junior year, hadn’t really been a challenge. Forcing myself then, to distribute time wisely has really helped me now, with the terrific pressures and burdens of college applications. This creative writing segment in my junior year helped my prepare, in a way, for these college essays. It gave me the free thinking approach I needed to hammer down my narrative essays this year. I only wish that there was more of such assignments...
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...My experience as a writer as another individual in society and being student in school writing is a part of life. Living in another state and being so far away from family I write my love ones back home because a letter can mean more than a phone call sometimes. Going to school writing is everyday thing between assignments and taken notes every time you write your writing skills get better. Certain jobs require written answer on their application in order to get hired. I’m pretty sure in the career I’m choosing ill encounter question that require writhing answer. Writing to me is a valuable ability. It plays s a major role in communication. Under certain circumstance an individual may person could be in the military away to basic training or overseas and don’t have access to electrical devices. To be honest I really don’t like writing because I had bad experience about not staying on topic or not making complete sentence. I have a hard time by you use punctuation in the right way. I don’t know how to grab people attention when I’m writing. I have a hard time staying on one topic. I love to learn more about it and have better experiences as a writer. My 10th grade year in high school, my English teacher gave us an writing assignment which was an essay before Christmas break the last day of school and to start Christmas break my teacher gave us our grad and mines was below passing. Focuses an advancing my writing in skills in which I did passed my English class for the year...
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