Food Descripion Journal

Food Description

By the time I got out of class, it was way past the normal time to eat lunch. I hadn’t eaten all day and I was starving. I had been thinking about the buffalo chicken wraps with the crispy chicken, spicy buffalo sauce, and soft tortillas. They were being served in the cafeteria that day and I had been anticipating lunchtime since before I arrived at school. I finally made it to the cafeteria to find that they were sold out of the wraps, but that wasn’t the worst of it. They had sold out of all the other good food that they normally have. I was forced to buy one of the premade sandwiches which actually didn’t seem too bad. I purchased the sandwich which, in my opinion, was overpriced, and I made my way to my usual table. I carefully unwrapped the sandwich and when I lifted the bread I was disappointed to find that there were tomatoes on it. It couldn’t have been the slices of tomatoes, but instead the finely chopped diced tomatoes that were near impossible to pick off. I was upset but I was so hungry that I had no choice but to begin scraping the tiny little red chunks from the sandwich. The smell was nauseating, and the appearance was disgusting. The seemingly easy task of separating the tomatoes from the lettuce proved to be a challenge. After wasting nearly my entire lunch period getting rid on the tomatoes, I finally thought I got the sandwich to an edible point. I took a bite and immediately sensed the slimy, bitter, sickening taste of the juice and seeds left behind from the tomatoes. The sandwich caused me to lose my appetite so I threw the rest of the demolished sandwich away. The cafeteria should label the ingredients of the sandwiches on the outside of the packaging to avoid this kind of dilemma.

Ann Hodgman Journal

Journal Assignment #3

“No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch” – Ann Hodgman

(The Norton Sampler p.77)

Read the selection and write a one paragraph response to the following questions.

1. Cite three specific examples of Hodgman’s descriptive imagery that you find to be particularly effective.

“Cycle-2, for adults, glistens nastily with fat, but it’s passably edible- a lot like some canned Swedish meatballs I once got in a care package at college.”

“There were chunks in the can, certainly- big, purplish-brown chunks.”

“Rather, it looked- and felt- like a single long, extruded piece of redness that had been chopped into segments and formed into a patty.”

2. What do you think Hodgman’s purpose was in writing this essay? What overall message/meaning do you take from the essay?

I think Hodgman’s purpose for writing was to confront her curiosity of the taste of dog food that packaging and advertising sell to be appealing. The author states that she has always wondered if Gaines-burgers are really like hamburgers, like the packaging claims. She tries numerous types of dog food and treats to reveal what exactly is in the makeup of “real meat” dog food. She finds that most foods do not taste the way that one would assume from reading the labels.

Annie Dillard Journal

Journal 2 - Annie Dillard – “The Death of a Moth,” from Holy the

Firm

1. How are the moths in the essay’s opening different from the moth at the campsite? What do the different moths represent?

The moths in the opening were just dead bodies. The moths at the campfire were alive until they flew into the fire of the candle. The different moths represent the different situations that the woman has had to deal with in her life.

2. What lesson does the moth provide that Dillard takes back to her students?

Dillard tells her students about the lesson of determination that is needed if they want to be writers.

3. How many references are there to fire in the essay? What’s the larger significance of fire in the essay?

There are at least three references to fire in the essay. The last fire was when Dillard spoke of the candles that she lights and never extinguishes. The candles help Dillard to see the light in all of her friends.

4. Address how each of the following quotes connect to Dillard’s overall point.

a. “I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.”

-Jack London

This quote connects to Dillard’s essay in that she feels similar to London’s overall message. She never blows out the flame of her candles which represents what she does in life.

b. “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

-William Butler Yeats

This quote relates to the essay because it talks about education and Dillard is a teacher. She talks to her students about giving their life to writing like the moth gave its life when it caught on fire.

c. “A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.”

-Franz Kafka

The essay and the quote both use an ax as a comparison for writing and education.

Narrative

I picked up a second job at a corner restaurant. It was a Monday afternoon, the busiest time of the day. Just before noon, which was the time all of the nearby workers get off for lunch. A large group came in and suddenly the place livened up. It had been a slow morning, but I was told it always picks up around noon. Everything had gone wrong that day and it continued going wrong for most of the remaining day. I slept through my alarm which meant I was going to be cutting it close to making it to work on time, and the heavy traffic didn’t help my cause. I was a little over ten minutes late and got a scolding from my boss. It wasn’t the way I had planned on making a first impression. Most of my co-workers were pretty bitter and not very welcoming. There was one other waitress who had a warm personality and gave me some insights of the restaurant. She was probably the only person in the restaurant, including myself, that was into the holiday spirit. You see, I picked up this job to save some money for the holiday season. Christmas was right around the corner and the money was short. I was lost in thought when the crowd of people entered through the door. I overheard some of their conversation and quickly learned that they were members of a church group who were stopping by for a warm drink after a few hours of Christmas caroling. I spoke to one of the carolers for a short while and soon enough told them of my situation. She gave me some kid words of advice and a smile and went on her way. When I went to clean their table after they left, I saw that she had left an extremely generous tip. That one customer was all it took to put me in the Christmas spirit.