"The essay is, and has been, all over the map. There's nothing you cannot do with it; no subject matter is forbidden, no structure is proscribed. You get to make up your own structure every time, a structure that arises from the materials and best contains them." ~Annie Dillard.
My primary incentive for selecting this quote is I completely agree with every last word. Specifically, the second sentence stands out for me. When writing an essay, there are no rules (content wise), you can voice your opinion and incorporate your feelings about a certain subject matter. I don't believe anyone can be instructed to write about something they don't believe or agree with, and still make it heartfelt and honest. What I really admire about Dillard's quote is that she openly states that there are no boundaries when confronting an issue within an essay. You can write how you feel and there's no one looking over your shoulder telling you what you have to write about. A writer is free to include whatever information they feel best partains to their subject. People have been writing essays for years and years, and the idea of voicing any contoversial material may be shocking, but it's accepted (or at the very least tolerated). What she's getting at in this excerp is we have the right to write and create whatever we feel in an essay, and there isn't anyone holding us back. No subject is too controversial, as long as what we include in our essay is meaningful to us. This quote applies to me because up until my senior year of high school I'd been told what to write about, and how to write it. It wasn't what I truly wanted to do, and I was never sure how to approach the assignment. This quote supports breaking down the walls that incarcerate us to strictly writing a certain way. It opens up the doors allowing us as writers to follow our own rules, and build our own essays whichever ways we please. We aren't restricted in our essays, and we can't be penalized for writing outside of the box.
1 comment:
The quotation you chose was interesting; especially the second sentence which explained that whatever we choose to write about can be incorporated within the essay. I think we agree on the fact that everyone can be a writer and the topic chosen does not exclude them. There are no guidelines that say what has to be written about in a certain era or how the piece should be formatted. I think this defines the essay as a form of writing that is completely personal and original no matter what subject matter is discussed.
Post a Comment