Blog #5: Writing Final Summary

Arizona State University, University Bridge

 

In my writing project I analyzed the view, space, and existence of the University Bridge through the lens of another author. The University Bridge inspired me to embrace a new perspective after our class readings, including my chosen text, Mark Twain’s “Two Views of the Mississippi.” Twain’s story led him from one perspective of the river to another, after getting to know it well. Twain’s first perspective is almost childlike, in awe of the majesty and beauty of the river.  After Twain spends more time on the river, his view of it changes to one that is almost cynical.  I transitioned this effect to my writing project because it described exactly how I feel about ASU’s University Bridge. My first impression was solely based on the bridge’s appearance, arched, beautiful, and structured. It made me excited or the day where I would cross it on a daily basis, enjoying the walk and of course, the view. However, like Twain and his river, my perspective changed when I became more familiar with it each day. I went from a pedestrian to a student, just like Twain went from a first time admirer of the river to steam boating through it often enough to lose sight of its beauty. While my view of the University Bridge now is of the love-hate sort, Mark Twain’s seemed to remain permanently tainted. His lens was the best fit for my writing project because not only did it fit the situation, but the emotions seemed to fit as well.

 

Blog #4: Drafting

        

In Mark Twain’s “Two Views of the Mississippi”, he emphasizes his idea of changing perspectives from first impression to veteran, which can also be used to change one’s view of University Bridge. A simple concrete structure, meant to connect the students in the northern residence halls to the heart of the Arizona State Tempe campus. Herds of kids commute daily across the bridge, a diversity of hurried underclassmen and calm staff members. The University Bridge, connected to the famous Palm Walk, was supported in design by a chiropractor with the goal to relieve pressure from fellow students and pedestrians’ lower back and legs. It offers an impressive view of the busy University Drive road during the day and an even more inspiring scene at sundown when the city lights are at their brightest. The University Bridge is the perfect place to capture it all at once.

The bridge stands, arched, symmetrical, and two sided. Anyone going up from either side of the bridge is presented with the option of steps, or plain runway cement. Although the steps are normally easier to take, most students subconsciously stay to their right, wherever it is that their destination lies. Personally, the first time I went up the University Bridge, I wanted to take the steps over the feeling of climbing a hill. But naturally, I found my feet maneuvered towards the flat, ramp style side to the right. “Why did I come this way?” I asked myself, several times. It is like a rule of humanity among crowds that this very bridge brought to the surface.

As a novice to this particular walkway, I could not help but be nothing more than enchanted and stricken by how amazing it felt to stand at the very top of the bridge, how stunning the humble view off the ground in the middle of a busy road looked, nor how it felt to finally come down and immediately miss a small version of being “at the top of the world”.

Like in Mark Twain’s “Two Views of the Mississippi”, there are countless attributes and beauty that this landmark possessed and then rapidly began to lose as I better familiarized myself with it. In the beginning, the impression of the bridge is typical for everyone; it brings together flocks of people, all sharing the similar goal to get where they need to be. It overlooks one of the busiest, most popular streets in the city of Tempe, rain or shine. The bridge connects one area to another, and even serves as a temporary place of loitering for some kids at nightfall. It is unarguably one of the campus’ most memorable structures.

As soon as one gets accustomed to the bridge, every trip up and down becomes a routine as well as a mission, mimicking exercises like cardio and jogging. Getting to the very top is almost painful; especially when the scorching Arizona sun is bearing down on you and all you can think about is making it across the bridge as fast as possible. Arriving to the foot of the bridge presents one with the set of steps. The steps are small, a little too small, and difficult to walk over for impatient individuals like myself. People rush past each other and skate boarders clash with others. One can suddenly find themselves dreading the trip up and down the arch University Bridge. What once seemed so convenient and thrilling to take advantage of, is now another thing to avoid while making my way to class. Much like Twain’s story about the river, the bridge loses its simplicity and beauty:

Now when I had mastered the language of this water, and had come to know every trifling feature that bordered the great river as familiarly as I knew the letters of the alphabet, I had made a valuable acquisition. But I had lost something, too. I had lost something which could never be restored to me while I lived. All the grace, the beauty, the poetry, had gone out of the majestic river! (Twain 208)

After learning how to pilot a riverboat, Twain lost the ability to see the simple beauties in the river. He could only see the dangers in the river's subtle details. In the story, Twain fondly recalls a memory of when he had witnessed a beautiful sunset when he was still new to steamboating. He described the majestic reflections of the fading sunlight, and the delicate waves of the water. He then goes on to describe how after becoming a pilot he would only recognize upcoming winds from the sunset and a dissolving sand bar from the bubbles and ripples. Where he had once found beauty in the river, he could then only find work.

The first time I found myself on the other side of the University Bridge, I thought about whether crossing it made up for avoiding waiting at the crosswalk with the others. It seemed as though half of the northern resident area students continued to use the stoplight, while others rushed to the University Bridge. Was the bridge everything I anticipated? Is it everything I thought it was? Does the beauty of overlooking the heart of the college town worth the troublesome characteristics of the bridge that have presented themselves? The view from the bridge has never changed, whereas my opinion of the bridge itself has dissolved immensely.

Chapters 2,3 & 7: Writing With A Purpose

"Every writer has a purpose, or reason, for writing." (Palmquist 28)

This is the line that most captured my attention from the couple of chapters I read today. It might sound simple, unimportant; maybe even a little cliché to some, but one thing rings true is that this statement can be argued in several ways.

How so?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book

When writers have something to say, a story to tell, or an opinion to voice, they will write with purpose. When they are inspired by morals, experiences and controversy, writers will write with a goal and a message. However, there is an exception to writers writing with a "purpose". A writer can pick up a pen with nothing more than the intention to exercise the passion they hold for the art of writing. I, my own testament, know for a fact I write for the sake of writing the majority of the time. I don't want to be told what to write about, that is the beauty of creative writing. When I write with purpose, I am writing to reach the objective of a classroom assignment. When I write on my own, I write for the fulfillment of doing what I love.

In the seventh chapter, Palmquist describes the role one takes on when writing analytically. "Analysis involves adopting the role of interpreter. Writers who adopt this role help readers understand the origins, qualities, significance, or potential impact of a subject." (Palmquist 210) This was interesting to me because this type of writing can be related to informative pieces, but with the ability to portray what the writer interpreted from the subject research. Hence, providing personal perspective along with useful information. Although this is an excellent way to practice writing, what I found most sapid about this chapter was the section of Literary Criticism. Any aspiring creative writer should become familiar with literary criticism, which is defined as "the analysis of literature, broadly defined as works of fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction." (Palmquist 225) Overall, these few chapters have provided me with great insight to ways to analyze writing both fiction and nonfiction, and my own and someone else's.






http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper