English 485: Expedition Adolescence

I absolutely love The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian . As I was reading, I felt so connected with Junior. I think Alexie is a master of projecting his character’s feelings and experiences to his audience. I thought the way Alexie portrayed loss was particularly meaningful as well. When Junior lost his grandmother, I started crying adult tears, honestly. Years ago, I lost my grandma (she was not really my grandma, but we called her grandma), and it all just seemed so similar to his portrayal. She was such a pure, happy woman who everyone loved, like Junior’s own grandma, so I felt myself relating to the story so much in that moment. In terms of this text connecting to others, I found myself relating this to Tillie Olsen’s Yonnondio: From the Thirties in my head. Both works center around families who seem to be more or less trapped in this cycle of poverty. My brain really went into high gear with the comparisons between the two when I read the line on page 14 where ...

I think that The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was a book that brought about many controversial issues. My overall reaction to the story is probably just the word wow. I’m amazed in the way the voice of the author, Sherman Alexie, was so relatable to what the voice of a 14 year old would actually probably be like. I feel as though he did a good job of putting his mindset into a preteen to tell the story. I also found the pictures hilarious because it’s always kind of nice to venture away from just the words on pages and see nice pictures! I didn’t have any problems reading the text because it was very straight forward and to the point. However there is a question that I had while reading. On page 165 when Grandma Spirit’s funeral is being held, and the random billionaire, Ted, comes along and gives his speech on how he had a powwow dance outfit that belonged to grandma, why is it that once Ted was told the outfit didn’t belong to Grandma Spirit, he just packed his suitca...

Hello, Classmates! My name is Manette Tanelus. I am Haitian, and I was born in Port-de-Paix, Haiti. I grew up in Fort-Lauderdale, FL, which is 20 minutes from Miami. I am currently studying Biology with a focus in Pre-Medicine. I am also double minoring in Creative Writing (hence this class), and French Studies. I speak Creole, French, and English.  I have always been a bit of a book nerd. I have all the Harry Potter series, a collection of Henry Ibsen plays, a collection of Shakespeare's works, and a couple of poetry books. I haven't had much time to read in the past year because my life is overwhelmed with studying, but I am excited to get back to it. I recently read Dirty Pretty Little Things by Michael Faudet (NOT YA), and I try to read every Ellen Hopkins book ever published. Aside from my love of reading, I occasionally attempt writing, and I have been told that I don't completely suck at it. I also used to play the alto saxophone, which I would love to sta...

My name is James Cooley and I live in Simpsonville.  It is a 30-45 minute commute but it is worth it.  I am an English Major and have quite a fondness for language and symbols.  Much of my spare time is spent playing and writing music, researching mythology and symbology, and playing video games.  Of course I grew up reading Harry Potter but latter on I discovered The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flammel series by Michael Scott.  It is a fantasy series much like Harry Potter but primarily used popular and obscure mythological icons and historical people as characters and villains, interviewing their stories into a modern setting. Sadly past this I could not follow the adolescent fiction craze that followed.  I occasionally read adult novels by authors such as Steven King and Clive Barker, however, most of my reading time is spent on nonfiction.  A goal of this class would definitely be to reignite my passion for reading that I had four or five yea...

Hello, my name is Tyler Turner. I am a senior here at USC Upstate and a Mass Communications major. I plan on becoming a librarian after I graduate. I was born and raised here in Spartanburg, South Carolina for most of my life, though I have also lived in Charleston. I love to read, particularly fantasy novels and comics. My favorite books are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the "Harry Potter" series. I enjoy reading the fantasy genre because it creates entire worlds to explore and think about filled with unique characters and creatures that you can't get from real life or more realistic novels. I feel that adolescent literature is particularly important because it comes in at such a crucial time in a person's development. Books can be a way for young adults to express and understand themselves or connect with other people that are different than them. I hope that by studying adolescent literature I'll gain a better understanding and appreciation for it a...

I'm Kendall and I'm a senior English major from Greenville. I don't really like to talk about myself but I like to make lists so here are the things I am mainly into: music, movies, tv, books, art, plants, astrology, the beauty and fashion industries, learning, writing, reading.  I like to read novels, nonfiction books, personal essays, poetry, the news, film and tv reviews, interviews, graphic novels, and magazines. I don't particularly like the classics. I can appreciate why we study them but feel no personal connection to them or inspiration from them. I like to learn about new ideas or techniques or concepts that are emerging in the world but I know at the same time you need an appreciation of history to fully understand them, so I try to get some of that understanding from my English classes. I honestly care more about my creative writing minor, though. My favorite author is Curtis Sittenfeld and my favorite book is  Prep  (which she wrote). I also love her book...

Hi, my name is Lucy (not short for anything, just four letters and easy to remember). I'm majoring in Communications with a concentration in Mass Media. I transferred here this semester from USC Columbia, where I was a Visual Communications major. College is great. :-) I was born in Maryland and lived there until the end of elementary school. My parents, two brothers, and sister moved to Spartanburg and I started middle school. The transition was a little bit of a culture shock, especially during such an awkward phase of life. Southern culture is worlds different than what I was used to in Maryland. I had trouble understanding what my teachers were saying sometimes because of their thick accents and I've never been great at initiating friendships. Plus, everybody already knew everyone and I was an outsider. I found a lot of comfort in books and writing throughout middle school. Eventually, I adapted. I wrote for the high school newspaper and became the editor senior year. I...