The Year in a Nutshell
As I write to you, my fellow
classmates, I am in the process of putting together a portfolio of the writing
I have done this year. The first thing you will find is an updated revision of
a Literary Analysis I wrote earlier this year. In my analysis, I discuss how
Liam O’Flaherty plants little hints throughout his short story about my thesis.
The second piece in this portfolio is something drastically different. It’s
something that makes my portfolio unique. The video I have in my portfolio is
the best that I have ever made, considering this is the first one I have ever
made. It puts a unique twist on a previous blog post. The purpose of this film
is to give everyone a glimpse of what I experienced. I think this film will be
one that you all will enjoy. The third, and final, thing you will find in this
portfolio are a few “hit and misses” of the year. Over the course of the school
year, there have been times where I have excelled as a writer, and also times
in which I was not. The “hit and misses” are the times when I did the best and
the worst. The two “hits” are pieces of writing that I am very proud of. On the
other hand, the two “misses”, are pieces of writing I wish I could forget
about. Throughout this, portfolio, I hope that you will find out who I am as a
writer.
I chose my Literary Analysis to
revise because I felt I had a considerable amount to fix. There were many
things that I was looking to fix. Two things that needed fixing was
organization and word choice. After reading it over five months later, I knew
something wasn’t right. Luckily, I focused on this in my visit to the Writing
Center. The Writing Center was a very beneficial experience. It helped me to
see something from a different perspective. After reading the Literary
Analysis, you will be able to see the more informative side of my writing.
The more creative side of my
writing is shown in my video. In my video, I film myself in a documentary-like
film about my experience the day I won a state championship. What’s special
about this is that it’s not exactly the same. Although I am the same as I was
that night, my surroundings aren’t. Instead of 900-1,000 fans, there will be
none. Also, instead of a stadium that holds almost 30,000, there won’t be a
single seat. You will be able to see me make a fool of myself as I “win a state
championship.”
For my “hits and misses,” I took a
lot of time deciding my high and low points of the year. My highest point of
the year was by far my research paper. Not only did I make an A, it was the
most complete paper I have ever written. That could be because I was able to
choose what I wrote about, but it was still my best piece of writing of the year.
My other hit was my blog post on my reflection of my experience of winning a state championship. In that
post, I developed my ideas into one of my longest and most developed blog posts of the year. A miss of mine was my Literacy
Narrative. This was most likely because I didn’t know as much in August, but it
still wasn’t the best. I could’ve been developed more than it was. Another miss
of mine was a blog post from way back in the first quarter. I wrote a very
short, 2 paragraph blog post on my experience during Hurricane Issac. Looking
back, that is a post I wish I never wrote.
This year I have learned more about
writing in a year than I have in all of Middle School. Middle School gave me a
base, but this year I have built on my foundation of knowledge. Until this
year, I never knew about the six traits of good writing. I didn’t know how to
use them to my advantage as a writer. Now, I know how to captivate my readers
using these traits. Another improvement of mine is the ability to develop
pieces. Looking back to my blog posts, I can see that I couldn’t make
paragraphs more than 5 sentences. Now those paragraphs could be almost double
in length. Over the course of the year, I have found strengths and weaknesses
in my writing. Some of my strengths are conventions, ideas, and voice. When I’m
at my best, I am able to use these to make my writing stand out. What can bring
me down is my word choice and organization. Its not that I don’t have the vocabulary,
but I sometimes don’t use it effectively. Some ways I can fix this is repeated
visits to the Writing Center. I know that they would help me develop these
traits further in the hopes of improving my writing. And so, as you read and
watch my portfolio, look for my strengths and weaknesses in my writing. I hope
you enjoy the work I’ve done over the course of year.
Hits and Misses:
Hits-
Research Paper
Blog Post- Reflection on State Championship
Misses:
Literary Narrative
Blog Post- Hurricane Issac
Writing Remix:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf756YqHFpc
Essay Revision:
They Never Got Along
In “The Sniper”, Liam O’Flaherty shows us
through the plot that the sniper didn’t get along with his brother both before
and during the civil war today. The fact that they don’t like each other leads
the sniper to knowingly kill his brother. The purpose of the sniper killing his
brother is crucial to the story because it’s the mark of the end of their
bitter childhood. Throughout the story, there is a sense of anger between the
two brothers that most readers don’t detect.
Before the
time of the story, the two brothers didn’t get along. Their disliking of each
other was the fact that they were fighting for different sides in the civil war
that their country is in. The sniper that the story follows is a Republican,
while his brother, who is on the other side of the street, is a Free Stater.
O’Flaherty doesn’t give us any hints that they are enemies, but finally indicates
this at the bottom of the first page. At this point in the story, a Free Stater
tank has been driven to the middle of the street and the sniper has decided to
open fire at the tank’s thick steel walls with just his rifle. This is an
unintelligent idea because he will blow his cover, which could get him
killed. After he shoots at the tank,
which was unsuccessful, O’Flaherty blatantly tells us that his cover is blown
and that he is in danger of dying. “Suddenly from the opposite roof a shot rang
out and the sniper dropped his rifle with a curse” (145,146). To a first time,
you would not expect for this to be a setback because there has been no mention
of a brother yet. You are more probable to see that the two brothers have
disliked each other when you read it a second time.
As they are
fighting, the only thing that separates the two sides is a street, which can be
thought of from two different perspectives. This street is no different than
any of the other streets in Dublin, where this civil war is being waged. When
most readers read this short story for the first time, they would think that
the street separates the two sides: a literal perspective. This interpretation
is justifiable, but if you think about it symbolically, there are many other
possibilities. The most common symbolic reference for this street would be the
problem that separates the two brothers, putting them on opposite sides of a
civil war, a valid and senseful way to interpret the street.
The two
brothers fighting for opposite sides knew about one another and were
purposefully trying to kill the other. Early in the story, O’Flaherty tells us
a range of how old the Republican sniper is. “His face was the face of a
student…” (145). If he was a student, and his brother was close to the same age
as him, then they most likely lived with their parents under the same
roof. Where they lived was irrelevant,
but the fact that they lived with each other kept them in constant contact.
This way, they could constantly agrue about the decisions made by Republicans
and Free Staters. Due to the fact that they were passionate about their sides,
they would’ve gotten into many arguments and started to dislike each other as
the arguments got more heated. After the sniper gets shot (and hit), he
realizes that whenever the sun comes up, his cover will be blown and he will be
a target for every Free Stater in Dublin. The problem, of course, is his
brother. “Morning must not find him wounded on the roof. The enemy on the
opposite roof covered his escape. He must kill that enemy and he could not use
his rifle.” (146). The enemy could be anybody, but on these specific
circumstances, knowing that his brother is on the opposite side and most likely
gunning for him, there is a strong possibility that it is his brother. Knowing
that they are just across the street from each other, they will do anything to
kill each other.
Taking off his cap, he placed it
over the muzzle of his rifle. Then he pushed the rifle slowly upward over the
parapet, until the cap was visible from the opposite side of the street. Almost
immediately there was a report, and a bullet pierced the center of the cap. The
sniper slanted the rifle forward. The cap clipped down into the street. Then
catching the rifle in the middle, the sniper dropped his left hand over the
roof and let it hang, lifelessly. (146).
O’Flaherty
shows us in this quote both the elaborate plan of the sniper and the eagerness
of his brother to kill him. “His hand trembled with eagerness. Pressing his
lips together, he took a deep breath through his nostrils and fired.” (146). This
is what most readers would expect after his brother shot at him. After firing
the shot back, he needs to be sure he hit his target. “Then when the smoke
cleared, he peered across and uttered a cry of joy. In fact he was so happy his
rifle fell all the way down onto the street (146).” He didn’t just kill
anybody. He knows who he killed, but we don’t so O’Flaherty has to tell us. He
chooses to tell us directly. “The sniper darted across the street. A machine
gun tore up the ground around him with a hail of bullets, but he escaped. He
threw his face downward beside the corpse. The machine gun stopped. Then the
sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brothers face.” (147). You
risk your life to see who you’ve killed unless you know who you killed. He knew
he killed his brother.
The fact
that they never liked each other was an important part of this story. Without
the hatred between the two brothers in this story, there is no passion or
desire from either side and your story isn’t as nearly as good as it could be.
Showing their dislike through plot was the best way to how that. If you were to
show it any other way, it wouldn’t have been as effective. O’Flaherty presents
it tremendously throughout the story.
The sniper got what he wanted in
a dead brother, and he sure is happy about it. His bother may’ve had the upper
hand in the past, we don’t know. It doesn’t really matter now though, the
sniper got the last laugh as well as the last breath. Although there are many
unanswered questions, they don’t have to be answered.
Works Cited:
O’Flaherty,
Liam. “The Sniper” English I Ed.
Edwards and deGravelles p. 147-151. Print
