Reader Response 8/28
Something that I noticed in the This I Believe essays are that:
- In most of the essay the writers seem to be reminiscing about something that has happened to them rather it be positive or negative. People like Isabel Allende reminisced about the time her daughter died while people such as Jackie Robinson reminisced about his first World Series. They share these stories about their past as a way to let us know how they got to their beliefs.
- Each person had an experience to tell about. they weren’t just writing about what they believed in. Instead they were writing about experiences that they had made it through which in a way is giving inspiration to the audience to make it through what ever obstacle they may have. For example Helen Keller wrote about how faith got her through her many obstacles that she had facing her.
- A couple of the writers included in their essay about how the experience they went through is still affecting them today. For example Eve Birch ended her essay by talking about the outcome of her belief; how she helped many people reach her idea of the American Dream. In the 1950’s series Stanley Allyn included in his essay how now he can appreciate the experience that he went through and how he understands it now.
The way that I would explain to someone who is unfamiliar with the This I Believe concept is to outline what they have to do in a series of goals to help make it easier to understand. First I would tell them that they are writing about something personal. So the goals they would have to make are that they have to make sure that it is something personal and something that means a lot to them. Another goal would be to make sure they understand that they do not necessarily have to write about an experience that they may have went through but to instead write about how they got to their belief or why they value what it is they value. The last goal I would give them is to make sure that they remember that they are not writing about their life story so it doesn’t have to be super long but instead they are writing about what they value most and why.