Peer Review #8 (Ngaire Ale)

Link to comment:

https://www.ngaireale1.wordpress.com/2017/09/27/the-waste-land/comment-page-1/#comment-393

Hey Ngaire!

I really enjoyed reading your piece as to how the modernist poem “The Waste Land” by T.S Elliot (1922) has moved you. I appreciate how you gave some historical context in your introduction as it gave me a sense of what you wanted to discuss about in your piece. Your analysis of “The Wasteland” was also done quite well as you explored various literary techniques that Eliot has utilised and explained its technique. However, I felt like you have not really answered the question and that was how Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land” has moved you. Rather than writing a sentence at the end to “answer” the question, I think you should have integrated your points as to how the text has moved you throughout your analysis of the poem. In saying that, I think you did a great job in analysing the poem!

Peer Review #7 (Christella Bade)

Link to comment:

https://www.christellabade.wordpress.com/2017/10/23/blog-9-american-literature/comment-page-1/#comment-66

Hey Christella,

I enjoyed reading your piece on how the poet Allen Ginsberg has inspired you. I definitely agree that Ginsberg’s poem  “A Supermarket in California” captures the ideas that he is attempting to convey to his readers, that is, the poem illustrates our obsession with consumerism and materialism. Ginsberg’s decision to address this problem of being enslaved to consumerism creates this sense of urgency to act now in the present moment and change ourselves for the better before its too late. I personally think your piece was well written and your decision to juxtapose Whitman’s criticism of his society and Ginsberg’s criticism of his society (by contrasting the themes in their poetry) has consolidated your ideas. To improve on your piece, I think you could have elaborated more on your points and expand further on your ideas. Apart from that, I think you did a good job with this week’s topic.

Peer Review #6 (Michael Harb)

Link to comment:

https://www.michaelharb.wordpress.com/2017/10/05/american-literature-week-9/comment-page-1/#comment-18

Hey Michael,

I just wanted to begin my comment with how I really enjoyed reading your piece on T.S Eliot’s “The Waste Land”. I liked how you chose to discuss a specific part of T.S Eliot’s piece (The 4th part of T.S Eliot’s “The waste of land” tilted “Death by water”) as it gives you the opportunity to explain and quote the text in depth. Your points as to why it “spoke to you the most directly” was also very interesting since you explained them well and incorporated an example for each of your points to consolidate your analysis. Your selection of examples that you paired up with your points was also very effective. Overall, I personally think you nailed this weeks topic question and I hope to see more from you!

 

Peer Review #5 (Raina Ebrahim)

Link to comment:

http://www.rainaebrahim.wordpress.com/2017/08/30/blog-3-what-is-significant-about-emily-dickinson/comment-page-1/#comment-15

Hey Raina,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your piece on the significance of Emily Dickinson. I, too, personally think that Emily Dickinson’s values for woman’s rights and equality are reflected through her poetry. Emily Dickinson definitely conveys how powerful and impactful mere words can be. I also found it insightful that you provided an analysis of Emily Dickinson’s writing style to consolidate your opinion. To improve your piece, I think you should link your ideas to the question more often throughout your response. Otherwise, I think you did a wonderful job. Keep up the great work!

Peer Review #4 (Daniel David)

Link to comment: https://ddavid1818.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/literature-journal-blog-4-4/comment-page-1/#comment-87

Hey Daniel,

I personally think you did a great job on your analysis with the extract from Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. Mark Twain’s prominent and masterful use of literary devices is evidently one of many aspects of his writing that assists him to “bring nature to life”. I particularly like your carefully chosen examples, how you paired it up with a literary device and a consolidated analysis to reinforce your idea that Mark Twain uses literary devices to bring nature to life. However, I’m rather disappointed that you did not elaborate more on your ideas because I really wanted to read more of your analysis. Other than that, keep up the good work! I look forward to seeing more posts from you.

 

 

Peer Review #3 (Jackson Eagles)

Link to comment:

https://www.jeaglesblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/23/2nd-american-writing-blog-post/comment-page-1/#comment-9

Hey Jackson,

I personally think your piece was extremely intriguing to read and insightful. Having done the same question, I really appreciate how you tackled the question from an entirely different approach and perspective. I found your piece engaging (probably because it resonates with a majority of students and their crime of being “serial procrastinators”). The ability to live deliberately is something that I believe most individuals desire but never work for. Hence, I think to be able to live deliberately is a great achievement everyone should strive for. I absolutely agree that the final words of Thoreau’s sentence “when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” conjures up feelings of fear and grief but in saying that, it also brings insight and wisdom. It reminds mortals such as ourselves that we should not take life for granted and in a way it encourages us to make every day meaningful and significant because that’s what ultimately determines what our life is—a collection of “these” days.

Peer Review #2 (Amy Raso)

Link to comment:

http://www.amyraso.wordpress.com/2017/08/18/emily-dickinson-and-zitkala-sa/comment-page-1/#comment-4

Hey Amy,

Your comparison of Emily and Zitkala-Sa was incredibly engaging and insightful. I think this was due to your extensive knowledge on visual literary techniques such as camera angles, body language and facial expressions. I also like how you provided a contextual background to your analysis for both Emily Dickinson and Zitkala-Sa. I think by doing so, it contributed to the insightful nature of your piece. Personally, I think you should have utilised paragraphs to make your piece more structured in terms of analysis. Regardless,  I think you absolutely nailed this creative piece and I certainly hope to see more of your work!

Peer Review #1 (Emily Brassil)

Link to comment: https://emilybrassil.wordpress.com/2017/08/17/life-without-distraction/comment-page-1/#comment-2

Hello Emily!
Let me start out by saying I loved reading your piece and I think it was not only engaging but captivating. Its dynamic exploration of the lack of appreciation that exists amongst contemporary society is exceptional. I definitely agree that it is still achievable to apply the Native American sense of importance of nature in modern-day society. While society is becoming more connected to social media and technology, we are becoming more disconnected with ourselves. By appreciating nature, it allows us to be reconnected with ourselves and hence this highlights the significance of nature to mankind. However, I don’t think living without ALL tangible objects will allow us to live a more whole and meaningful life. More so, I think if we were to detach ourselves from these objects and develop a sense of self and appreciation in nature, we would be a step closer to living a more whole and meaningful life.