When reading Dirk’s “Navigating Genres.”, I immediately noticed how informal the essay was. I really like the fact that although he was talking about finding the right genre for the type on paper you are writing and the fact he was teaching us something, it still felt like it was a normal conversation that I would be able to have a back and forth with. I can not really say that I am confused about anything this essay has to offer anymore. I had read this last semester for my last English class and had to annotate it as well. Then we went over everything so everything is still pretty fresh for me.
The article I chose was “Is Marriage Obsolete?”. I thought the article was okay at best. I was not a big fan of some of the ways she described certain things. For example, when she was describing her husband she said ” zero depth perception, and a palsy that makes his right hand shake whenever he passes me, say, a porcelain creamer filled to the brim with liquid nitrogen.”. I am sure that sentence is structured beautifully with solid imagery. BUT my problem stems with me having to decipher what she is trying to say there. I am not the most quick witted fella when it comes to deciphering texts and when I read an article on something that is of some what importance to me, I do not want to have to waste time thinking what the author is trying to tell me. Other than that I did really enjoy the honesty that came along when she was describing the benefits of marriage in todays age. She gave good reasons in support of and against marriage.
As soon as I saw this article on the list my interests were piqued. I clicked on it right away. I am a 26 year old male and I have been with my girlfriend going on 5 years now. Every family or social gathering now a days is pretty much just people bombarding us with questions such as “when are you too going to get married?” and statements like “You know when I was your age I was married for 6 years already”. Well I am sorry Debra but you’ve been divorced 3 times since so I am not quite sure I should be taking marriage advice from you. But anyway, my girlfriend and I have no plans for marriage any time soon. My reasons are the severe social anxiety I feel when I think about having to stand at the altar and people watching me. She wants to finish school and be established before we rush into things. As Heather said 40-50% of all marriages in the USA end in divorce and I am not rushing to be another statistic.
Great post, I even chuckled at the Debra comment. Something you mentioned about the author’s style resonated with my own thoughts. When I read an article to gain knowledge, I appreciate when the writer is focused and goes straight to the point. The article I read was very straightforward, thankfully. I suppose that the article, “Is Marriage Obsolete?,” is more of an opinion based text, which then makes sense why the author would take more liberty in their structure. However, in Dirk’s article, he did touch upon the fact that an author shouldn’t deliberate too much unnecessarily: “too much choice is as debilitating of meaning as is too little choice.” So, I guess this is an opinion left to debate for authors and their readers. Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts on the article!
I agree with you that “Is Marriage Obsolete?” was not the easiest to understand due to the phrasing of the author. I definitely reread the portion about the liquid nitrogen more than once because I wasn’t quite sure what was being said. The author is using a loose and personal tone because it is an opinion piece and less of an evidence based article. I also agree with you about the pressure to get married despite not wanting to be part of the statistics. Older generations are quick to push marriage on younger adults because of their own experiences, but as younger adults we are seeing the idea of marriage changing.
Hi Anthony, I agree with she the writer is ambiguous in the article. I believe it is her style of writing. I was impressed with her honesty and made me more interested in her article.
I think you are on right path with your girlfriend. You are too young. When i was 23 years old my uncle would always ask me one question, when we would meet once every year ” when are you going to get married?” honestly it is not easy to tolerate this question when you are female .