So apparently I saved this file to my desktop instead of to my y-drive, so it's time to start over. Extra practice. I feel like I'm back in U.S. again. I can't say I was ever a big fan of these metacognition self-reflection deals, but they're probably for the better. Towards the end of sophomore year I got good at these, but I think I might have to start over. Maybe I'll look back to my old metacognitions. They'll get good sooner or later.
So this draft was basically started over from scratch. I realized that my first draft turned out more like a brainstorming session of potential ideas. My mind was wandering from one idea from the next, and, uh, it wasn't very successful. I did happen to come upon two ideas in that first draft that I liked. First, the brothers rarely interact directly with each other, but rather indirectly via Caddy. Second, the idea of looking at the Compson family from the “inside-out.” Unfortunately, I couldn't get very far past the basic premises of these ideas. I simply didn't know what to go, and I couldn't find a spot in the text to set me going. In general, incorporating specifics and textual analysis I find kind of hard here; perhaps it's the nature of the exploratory essay.
Anyway, I started this draft with my first observation about the book – Faulkner is experimenting with time. To organize my essay, I went from one chapter to the next, noting the effects of time in each chapter and trying to establish correlations that could be helpful in creating a thesis. At the end, I tried to make conclusions based on the observations I gathered throughout the essay.
One of my main concerns with this draft is that I was both too specific and not specific enough at the same time. I was too specific in that I rarely stepped outside of the text and made inferences about the vision of the world that Faulkner suggests. I wasn't specific enough in that only in a few places did I reference specific details. I happen to like the times where I did this the best (like my observations of Quentin disassembling his watch, whether or not it did fit into my essay).
I did pick a global theme, relationships with time, to concentrate on, and strove to find a thesis within this theme. I'm not sure whether I strayed too far from my path at the beginning, while keeping on the same level of analysis. I feel like I should be changing the scope of my analysis, narrowing it down or expanding it, rather than just moving further away from my starting point. Still, I do see a connection between where I started and where I ended up. I also think that I have some good ideas in my essay, but fail to put these together into an effective conclusion.
Ever since freshman year, my best essays have always been exploratory essays. I find some way to make the reader think, connect the main subject to a larger cause, and I make the reader care. My good exploratory essays are not typical English essays. This essay feels a little too typical, maybe just a little less formal.
I don't think my essay is bad, I'm just wary of being optimistic (when I did this in US I was on the highway to hell). I think I could take some of my ideas and focus them more, like my ideas about Jason, and then use them to make a larger point about life in general. I think my conclusions, while mostly accurate, may be too obvious. This reflection is beginning to feel as repetitive, and as un-specific, as my essay.
I'm not gonna lie, I did write this essay last minute; my college app was due the day before. This usually, though, is not a problem. I do my best writing when I write an entire draft in one sitting. Aside from in-class essays, I usually don't plan my essay out before hand. This is especially true for exploratory essays. I think when I plan, I don't come across my thesis spontaneously, and thus end up writing a very analytical, thesis-driven essay. The organization for this essay was clear-cut, chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4. Within these scheme, I let my thoughts drift – maybe too far, maybe not far enough. I haven't made up my mind yet.
My goals for the next piece are to use more specific details to speak more generally about the implications of Faulkner's novel. I would call my work “quality work” when I think that an outside reader would be interested in and care about my essay. It should make its reader think and perhaps examine the world with a new perspective, whether or not the reader knows that its origins came from Faulkner's messed up novel. The end.
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