My Favorite Narrator

My favorite narrator throughout the many books that I've read would be the first-person narration in Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann.  The first-person perspective is really an interesting viewpoint because it looks at the overlapping lives of the different characters in the novel.  This type of narration is central to this story because it allows the reader to see the overall concept and progression of the story, while the characters must struggle to learn them on their own.  This fits the story so well, and is the main reason why it's such a good novel to read.  It does not fit the normal first-person boundaries in the sense that it only follows one character, but instead there are many different characters who narrate at different points in the story.  This enables the reader to understand what each character thinks of another, and also predict the impact the different characters will have on each other.

The novel focuses on the summer of 1974 in New York City, and in particular the type rope walk that took the bustling city by storm.  Within this period, the lives of many different characters are followed and the audience is able to gain the perspective of different races, classes, and groups during a changing time not only in New York but in the entire world.  The story follows characters like Corrigan, a Jesuit brother working with prostitutes in the inner city, Claire, a grieving mother who lost her son in Vietnam, and Lara, a recovering drug addict who plays a role in Corrigan's death and carries out a relationship with his brother.  All of the characters lives overlap in some way, and the narration is what illustrates how the characters react to the situation each has been put into.  I find it most interesting to get another character's point of view on a certain person after they have already narrated.  I found that it changed my perspective on almost every character, as it gave an unbiased look at each persons life.

This is my favorite narration because of all the new things I learned about the city and the characters because of the changing perspective.  The overlap is just so interesting, and in many cases unlikely, but McCann does a great job tying it all together to create this marvelous story.  I would recommend it based purely on the fact that it keeps the reader extremely interested as they don't full into the lull that a one person narration often creates.  The changing worldview really keeps the audience on it's toes and makes the novel and narrator one of the best I've read.

Ryan Cullen

Poster Campaign Proposal

In order to reach the greatest possible amount of the student body here at U of D, I have decided to begin a poster campaign encouraging reading through a variety of different methods.  The poster campaign will likely be seen by almost the entire community at school, often more than once by the same person.  This will hopefully get people to stop and look, because often students just walk right by posters and do not think twice about it.  The goal in mind is to make students aware of some of the things they are missing out on when not reading, and also to give them suggestions as to what would be an enjoyable read while still challenging them to increase their education.

            The main slogan for my poster campaign will be, “Good Books from Great Teachers.”  The concept is to ask 10 different teachers for recommendations on their favorite books, articles, or reading tips to students.  I will explain to each teacher my goal of improving literacy and convincing fellow students to pick up a book in their free time.  By using some of the more popular and well-liked teachers, the students will be drawn to the posters for the simple reason that they want to see what they have to say.  The teachers I will be using for this poster campaign are: Davidson, Miller, Slaughter, Hill, L. Godwin, Evalt, Diehl, Chandler, Foerg, and Teasdale.  All of these teachers are beloved by a large part of the student body and thus will draw increased interest rather than simply reading suggestions from a fellow student.

            The format of the posters will highlight two different teachers, one on each side, with the main heading running across the top of the page.  Besides the photo used for ID cards for the teachers, I will include images that show the cover of the novel, as well as pictures of books, magazines, etc. in a variety of colors that will add some pop to the posters.  Under each teacher’s name and picture will be the text containing their selections for the different topics.  I am also going to include a reading tip at the bottom of each.  However, I will make sure that the text is kept to a minimum so that students can simply read it in between classes or see some titles with a passing glance.  In total I would like to make 5 different poster sets, each one containing 5 copies.  The first week I will hang 2 of these sets (10 posters total) throughout the school, and on the second week I will hang the remaining three.  This is to ensure that the information is fresh and relevant, thus gaining the attention of more sets of eyes.  A key to this will be changing up the color scheme so it does not seem like it’s the same poster being used.  I’d like to hang the posters in a variety of different places throughout the school: outside the door of the teacher being highlighted, on the wall of the main staircase, on the wall of the second floor side staircase, in the atrium, and in the cafeteria.  This will make sure that students are able to see the posters in a variety of locations, the poster outside of the door will also hopefully bring questions from students to that teacher.

In summary, each set of posters will be unique, highlighting different teachers and pursuing the goal of making students at U of D more interested in reading and help bridge the literacy gap one small step at a time.

1.  English class has been a very positive experience as I enjoy reading and writing and improving both of those skills.  I've enjoyed my teachers at the high school level and also my 8th grade teacher had a very large impact on me and helped to increase my overall interest in English class.

2.  My reading experience inside of school is often a struggle simply for the fact that I'm often rushed for time when reading books in school.  For the most part I enjoy the different novels that we read throughout the year, but at times I'm too rushed to fully enjoy the read.  The books in this Contemporary Lit class will hopefully be a good experience as I will be able to read some selections that have been published more recently.

3.  This class for me is an opportunity to continue to improve my reading skills and interest level.  I hope that a small class and relaxed atmosphere will lead to me really enjoying the different books that have been picked out for us to read.  The fact that these books are all very recent is also very cool and I hope I can gain a greater perceptive on modern lit.