English Autobiography

Biography

A biography is a narrative of a person's life that includes everything from birth to death, revealing these facts in an outsider's objective tone.

Diary

A diary is a record (originally in handwritten format) with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, thoughts, and/or feelings, excluding comments on current events outside the writer's direct experience.

Memoir

A narrative composed from personal experience

What impact did Christy's epiphany have on his life? (The letter A)

He said writing was the key to mental freedom, and he said it was to provide a source of relaxation to tense.

When Momaday imagines the cricket on the moon, why does he say "there... was its small definition made whole and eternal"? B. Draw Conclusions: In what sense is Momaday's memory of his grandmother similar to his vision of the cricket

He says that because he's comparing the cricket on the moon to his grandmother. He says the cricket has gone there to live and die, for there of all places, "was its small definition made whole and eternal."

How and why does Anaya value libraries?

He values libraries because he loves to reads and he loves the exhilaration of reading.

What was Christy's purpose for writing My Left Foot? What can you learn from him?

His purpose was to let everyone know that he had such a hard time growing up, being left out and disabled. When he started to write with his feet, it was his epiphany, it was life changing for him. He had finally discovered a way to communicate with the world. I learned that no matter how difficult things get, there is always a reason to be optimistic, and to not give up.

What do the conditions at the camps suggest about the government's feelings towards Japanese Americans?

HyThe conditions suggest that the government doesn't care about these people, that they're expecting them to live with the bare minimum

At the end of the essay, West asks Sis if her mother ever let her play in the sun parlor when West was not there. However, she does not want to hear the answer and states that it is enough for her that Sis listened. Why do you think West feels this way? How would you feel in the same situation?

I think she feels this way because she feels content even just asking the question because she finally said what she has been trying to say for decades. I think I would feel the same and feel fulfilled that I had the chance to say what I need to say.

Dorothy West begins "The Sun Parlor" with the words, "This is a tale with a moral." What is one of the main morals, or lessons about life, that the story suggests?

I think the lesson here is that children are worth more than a room in a house.

What is unique about the way West shares the events of "The Sun Parlor" with her readers?

I think what's unique is how she shares her stories through periods of decades, and during the summers.

Reflective Essay

is a brief nonfiction work in which a writer presents the experiences that shaped or inspired his or her thoughts on a topic

Satire

is a writer's use of humor to point out the foolishness of a particular type of human behavior.

Hyperbole

is exaggeration for effect in which a writer describes something as if it were much greater than it is.

Hyperbole

is exaggeration for effect in which a writer describes something as if it were much greater than it is. Describing a creek as a "yawning gorge" is an example of hyperbole.

Syntax

is the way an author arranges words into sentences.

Diction

or word choice, is the type of words the writer uses

Satire

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

What is the purpose of a nonfiction

to explain to entertain to share thoughts and experiences to persuade to inform

Understatement

to portray a person, an event, or an idea as if it were much less than it is. Saying that "the avalanche was a minor inconvenience for hikers" is an example of understatement.

Humorous Writing

writing is writing in which people, events, and ideas are presented in unexpected, amusing ways.

What type of writing is this? How do you know? (The letter A)

This is an autobiography because you can tell how he wrote it because he says words like I, and my, and mine

Describe the food Uchida ate at the internment camps. What is the purpose of her descriptions of the food?

Uchida ate canned sausages, boiled potatoes, and butter-less bread. Although the food didn't even go down, the purpose for describing the food was to tell us that the living conditions and the food was bad, and unlivable.

Nonfiction

Writing that is true

Speech/Address

a formal, prepared speech that is usually delivered by an important person

What lesson about life does Anaya teach with this essay?

The life lesson taught here is that to take life little by little, be grateful for each day, and love your family.

In what ways did Momaday's relationship with his grandmother shape his appreciation of Kiowa culture? B. How did his knowledge of Kiowa history impact his view of his grandmother? C. How has the experience Momaday narrates in this essay changed his life?

Momaday makes it his personal journey after Aho passes away with the Kiowa culture. She was his last living link to the culture and his ancestors. He wants to go back and follow the historic migration path of the Kiowa and visits her grave at Rainy Mountain. 4b: Since Aho died, Momaday comes home often, his memories for her are firm, and he loves her very much. He now notices all things she used to do, like cook, pray, look outside. He also thinks of her hair and how her body was shaped. 4c: He notices and pays more attention to his grandmothers' culture, he has strong memories of her, so he thinks about her often and remembers her. It changed his life because this is also his culture, so he's learning for himself also, finding more about who he is, and where he's from.

Describe stall number 40. Why does Uchida feel that calling it an "apartment" was "ludicrous"?

Stall number 40 was very small. It only had one source of daylight and Uchida calls it ludicrous for calling it an apartment because it were stalls, and were only ten by twenty feet. They were smelly also.

What event does West say she regrets? Why do you think this event stayed in her mind for so many years?

The event she regrets is when her mother tells her "No room says `Do not Enter'", over the passage of years she took her place with the grownups. I think this event stayed in her mind because there was a little girl, named Sis, and she was eight at the time and she forgot that a child is not subordinate to a house.

What lesson is taught by the story of the aunt's stay in the sun parlor?

The lesson learned here is "A little girl wanted to love that room, and you wouldn't let her. We learn so many lessons as we go through life."