PD 6 AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE
On Wednesday, we will be traveling to Martinsburg High School to hear the 2016 Appalachian Heritage Writer in Residence, Charles Frazier. To prepare for our visit, I'd like you to familiarize yourself with Mr. Frazier and his writing style.
Read this excerpt from Frazier's 1997 Civil War Novel (and later movie) Cold Mountain. Then, either read this interview about Cold Mountain or read this article from The Guardian about Frazier's views on writing. In the comments below, please answer both of the following questions. Please put a space between your paragraphs so that it is easier to read. Your answer to each of the questions should be at least 4 sentences.
Post your response by Tuesday @ Midnight. You DO NOT need to reply to peer comments for this post.
21 Comments
Kennedy Murray
9/27/2016 03:28:06 pm
"Not much. She’s somewhat with child. That and what I gave her.
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Amanda Starliper
9/27/2016 04:00:42 pm
There isn't really anything to spectacular about his writing style. His diction is well executed especially with his description, and making things make sense. I'd say that the over all tone of the story might be rather sad, or maybe a little depressing. Not in a strong over bearing way, but when you think of the occasion of this. "Inman was about ready to make his move when the man stood and worked the base of the torch around in the dirt until it held upright. He rose and walked to the horse’s far side. He began trying to lift the bundle from the horse, which shifted about nervously and put back its ears, the whites of its eyes visible all along the lower rims." I think that the whole point of this is to make you form an opinion of these characters. He is using pathos with techniques like tone change, and value appeals. He approaches value in a different way through the way the audience sees things as normal.
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Yaronn James Arciaga
9/27/2016 05:57:04 pm
I noticed the Frazier’s writing style in the excerpt has genuine flow, or structural concept that benefits from the average person, speaking in a highly intelligent persona. His diction is naïve, but wise diction. It is meant for a critical thinking on sophisticated stories, such as ordinary lives in the Civil War, rather than the big picture, in which, is viewed historically emphasized by the common people. His tone is vague, and realistic. I picture Frazier as this person, who is having this conversation with another, discussing the critiques on the smaller aspects of things, rather than the bigger picture.
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Yaronn James Arciaga
9/27/2016 06:00:33 pm
I am sorry, Ms. Gearhart that the same comment is repeated twice. My computer decided to mess with me, as a result, two comments (the same ones)! Anyways, that is what happened, and this just a note to avoid confusion.
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Serenity McDill
9/27/2016 09:23:16 pm
"You’re a message from God saying no, the man said. He took two steps more and then dropped to his knees in the road and fell forward and hugged Inman about the legs."
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Christian Unsihuay
9/28/2016 08:29:50 am
The one thing that I noticed in Charles Fraizer's writing is how he didn't use quotation marks and instead uses hyphen marks. It's written in a way that gives the audience a more realistic and human appeal that we usually read in narrative. When he wrote he gave a very personal diction and expressive tone that really draws the readers into thinking that the characters are real. An example would be how Inman knelt next to the girl and described her very emotionally and then talked about the candle as it was a person itself.
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Christian Unsihuay
9/28/2016 09:40:01 am
2. What I found interesting about Fraizer's interview was his interest in what he was doing. He explains how he wanted to know why is grandparents fought in the civil war or how he talked about taking creative writing classes. The sort of responses that he gives us are very personal and give us a sense of the authors perspective. A question I wanted to ask him was why he stopped writing the book about the runaway bride?
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Dalton Kendig
9/28/2016 10:43:34 am
I noticed how descriptive his writing is. It puts an image in your mind and makes it seem like you are actually there instead of having your imagination guess what everything looks like based on previous experiences. It's also straight to the point. He doesn't put a ton of fluff in it if any.
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Jacob Burton
9/28/2016 10:49:55 am
I thought his writing style was very interesting and had a good flow. He also used lots of metaphors. The reason he did this was to capture the reader's attention. By meeting him in person we got to know his perspective far better.
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Mason Collins
9/28/2016 10:50:35 am
His writing style is very basic and there is not much to it. He has perfected his style making it seem better than it is. He does a good job of bringing the reader into the work however. His diction and tone helps draw the audience in. to be continued. . .
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Mason Collins
9/28/2016 08:36:18 pm
pt 2
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Katlin Besaw
9/28/2016 01:48:01 pm
"You're a message from God saying no, the man said."
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Ginger Seibel
9/28/2016 02:40:07 pm
"Don't kill me, I'm a man of God, the man said."
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Emily Bethel
9/28/2016 05:12:37 pm
1. In this excerpt from "Cold Mountain" Charles Frazier seems to have a more sophisticated diction. He appears to uses an extensive vocabulary to incorporate many descriptive words. These words are also used to give the reader a more gloomy tone. The quote, "He let his head sink down... He made a kind of illuminated dark wad in the road," is a great example of Frazier's diction and tone. By describing the man as an, "illuminated dark wad," is a perfect example of this. These two contradicting words are used together showing the extent of his diction.
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Emma Reyme
9/28/2016 05:30:23 pm
1. I noticed that he gave an overview of the setting and what has happened before he goes into the descriptive story. He has a variety of sentence structures yet it has a smooth flow to it. As I continued reading the tone of the characters were contemplative and desperate as indicated by the series of questions asked by Inman and the phrase "Oh Lord" by the man. There's a tone shift from Inman in where he's more assertive towards the man.
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Alix Kramer
9/28/2016 05:35:04 pm
"All Ada could think was that every step in the process that Ruby had so casually sketched out would be many days of hard work to come up with a few yards of material coarse as sacking. Money made things so much easier."
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Rachel Johnson
9/28/2016 06:08:12 pm
1. Frazier has a descriptive style of writing. In great detail, Frazier describes the preacher man as being very sorrowful and tired. You get a sense that both the preacher and the woman (including the horse) are all exhausted after reading the illustrative comments about the three. The quote "Her face was slack from being senseless, and the shadows cast from the torch were ugly things, collecting unfavorably in the low spots of her eyes and cheeks," is a great example of his diction and tone. His explanation paints a very illustrative picture of this desperate woman. This quote gives off a somber tone as the reader understands this woman's despair and her feeble condition.
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Megan Bicking
9/28/2016 07:05:57 pm
1. In Mr. Frazier's book, Cold Mountain, he uses a calm diction, an archetypical story choice, and some knowledge of the time period to have exact facts and dates. He makes his character known through well known mannerisms of southern style and that of a bruding man.
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Danté Wright
9/28/2016 08:11:42 pm
"Don’t kill me, I’m a man of God, the man said.
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Mallory Misera
9/28/2016 08:24:39 pm
While reading this excerpt, I noticed a variety of strong, complex words as well as simpler ones. This quote shows a common tone in the beginning half of the piece, "Step away from her, Inman said. Get over here where I can see you." Inman seemed to be cautious and hesitant while watching and speaking to the man. Also, the characters' personalities/thoughts are described more so than their physical qualities. This allows the reader to feel more connected with the characters.
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Helena Blackman
9/29/2016 04:45:15 am
1. Frazier's descriptive diction helps to bring the story to life. While his phrases are short and simple, they are chalk full of colorful tone words that shape the story. His description of the characters is more focused on their speech and mannerisms than their physical appearance, which helps to connect the readers to the minds of the characters.
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