Assignment Task:
Growing up in one of the rural parts of Western New York leaves a permanent impression on a person. This is the part of the state where many people are die-hard sports fans, the home of the only NFL team that plays their home games in their state (I'm talking about the two teams that have New York in their name, but play their home games in New Jersey).
To be more specific, I'm talking about the small town of Wellsville, New York. This is where I grew up and still live. Wellsville is a town with a village of the same name within it. Up through the time that I would have been in either middle or high school, it seemed like there was always so much to do. Growing up in the town, as opposed to the village, was good and bad. You could, without much worry, ride your bike, something I did regularly. Whether it was to go to my grandparent's house, go to my great uncle's pond to go fishing, or just to the other kids that lived nearby to play, that's what I did (I could say we, as it was usually me and one or both of my brothers). If I grew up in the village, riding my bike still would have been worry-free, and there would be many more things to do. But this was all before the advent of the internet, along with being young enough to not know that there was so much more out there.
It was then and is still the largest town in Allegany County, which shares its southern border with Pennsylvania. Being the largest town in the county would also be part of the reason that it seemed like there was a lot to do. By the time I reached my teenage years, and started to realize everything else that there was out there. It wasn't enough that nearly everything was close enough to ride your bike to. The majority of the time if I wanted to see a movie the day it came out, I needed to take a 35 to 45-minute ride or drive to one of the nearby cities (these are small cities). Somewhere that had a theater that could show more than two movies at a time. Either way, these options were in a different county.
This is not complete. I plan to add some images of the area, including my great-uncle's pond, where I fished growing up (and still do, with my son now) along with other places that were an important part of my life.
- Does the essay's opening get your attention and interest?
- What are the main points you understand about the place from the essay?
- Is there a personal investment in the depiction of place? Is there a linkage of place with the writer's own experience of and ideas about the place, so that the essay is not merely a "travelogue" of details, but a depiction of place that also offers insight (into the place and/or the writer)?
- Consider the organization of details, the essay's overall structure. Does the structure make sense given the topic and the insights you think the author intended?
- Identify words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs that make an impact and help you understand more about the place. Identify the use of literary elements or techniques that help you understand more about the place.
- What sensory details/images (of sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) are evident?
- What kind of voice/person do you hear in the piece of writing? Is the language alive and genuine?
- What other information about this place would you like to learn?