Thomas Feng
June 17, 2007
Cover Letter
To whom it may concern:
First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my selected works for my writing portfolio. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Corio, Anita, Promise and Mex, who have helped me a lot during the writing course. I’ve selected a reading log, three drafts of my essay as well as the final timed writing and put them in a chronological order. Because with such arrangement, they can clearly represent both the arduous efforts and the gradual progress I have made step by step by attending the English writing class this semester. This course revolves around five stories, the authors of which include a Frenchmen, two Americans, a Nigerian and an Indian. This provides me with an excellent chance to read stories with totally different backgrounds and writing styles. During the course, I not only find the stories really interesting, but have learned a lot, particularly in two main aspects: writing techniques and the true meaning of writing.
A writing class certainly involves a lot of writing. To be frank, before attending this class, I was already quite confident in my writing capability, since I had finished quite a lot writing assignments in previous courses and got a full mark in the writing part of TOEFL iBT. Anyway, what is taught in this class varies in terms of form and techniques. It is the first time that I have been assigned to write an essay. Also, such techniques as thesis statement, quotation and paraphrasing are all new to me. So it is a brand new experience for me and I spare no pains in working on my essay. Thanks to the help from Mr. Corio, I have managed to learn most of the techniques taught in class without much difficulty, which enables my writing to be more understandable and persuasive.
More important, I think by attending this class, I have truly understood the meaning of writing. This is also a gradual process. At first, I took it for granted that writing simply needed strong emotions. It’s just the case when I wrote a reading log. I expressed my direct feeling after reading a story for the first time. After a while, with deeper understanding of the importance of analysis and interpretation, I have come to know that emotion alone can not make a good essay. This is demonstrated by my three drafts of essay. Every time I modify my essay, I always try to combine critical thinking with personal emotions by adding analyses after expressing my feelings. This is what this class has taught me: Good writing needs both “sense and sensitivity”.
Here is the brief introduction of the works I have selected.
The reading log expresses my first reaction to the story, “The Necklace”. This is one of Guy de Maupassant’s masterpieces and I really appreciate it. It tells the story of a young woman who longed for vainglory but finally ended up in poverty. In my reading log, I associate the tragedy of this young woman with a similar experience of my own.
The three drafts of my essay are something I really take pride in. My essay is about “The Grass-Eaters”, an Indian story by Krishnan Varma, who creates a sharp contrast by describing the miserable life of the extremely poor hero and emphasizing his strong optimism. In my essay, I discuss what lies beneath the seemingly strong optimism and try to figure out the underlying implication of this contrasting effect. Admittedly, my drafts of essay are not perfect. But I have spent a great amount of time and energy working on them, trying to make them as good as I can. What’s more, they reflect the progress I have achieved. With modification, each draft is not only longer, but also stronger, more persuasive and penetrating than the previous one.
Final timed writing requires me to finish an article within 45 minutes. As an examination of one’s overall writing capability, it is also the last piece of writing assignment I have in this class. I hope that this piece of writing marks the successful ending of this course. Though the class will finish soon, I shall never stop writing. For me, writing is becoming an enjoyable process during which I am able to acquire a sense of self-fulfillment and inner peace.
Thanks again for taking time to read my works as well as this cover letter.
Sincerely,
Thomas
Thomas Feng
June 15, 2007
Draft three
Optimism, or Despair?
Poverty is awful. But it can be worse if you give up your hope and faith instead of struggling to get rid of it. This is what I have learned from “The Grass-Eaters” by Krishnan Varma. In this novel, Krishnan tells the story of an Indian school master, Ajit Babu, who adopts an optimistic attitude towards the poverty and miseries he suffered. He finally grows so accustomed to it that he is able to watch in peace and contentment the passing scene that reflects the darkest side of the society. However, despite the optimism and even the sense of humor Babu showed, there is a deep sense of despair that lies underneath it.
At first sight, Krishnan’s description of poverty in Calcutta seems astonishing. But considering that the population of India is one of the largest throughout the world, second only to that of China, the Indian government is confronted with extreme difficulty in its arduous effort to raise the overall living conditions of its people. Besides, in India, the gap between the rich and the poor has been widening for a long time, posing a serious social problem. After taking all these into consideration, such descriptions seem to make sense. And the hero, Babu is exactly such a typical Indian who has suffered from grinding poverty.
Babu almost experienced all the miseries one can imagine. With the change of his residence as a clue, the novel develops in such a way that provides us with an overall view of the wretched life Babu is leading. He once lived on a footpath “so crowded with residents, refugees and locals that if you got up at night to relieve yourself you could not be sure of finding your place again” (56). It is common sense that only homeless tramps live on a footpath. And the scene of a footpath serving as home for flocks of migrants and poor citizens will surely breach the wildest imagination of any one. After that, Babu moved to a cement pipe which Babu “found more comfortable” (56) than any of his previous homes. When the couple came upon the pipe, “unbelievably, it was not occupied and, with no prompting from [Babu], [his wife] crept into it” (57). In a developed country, will anyone be surprised to see a vacant cement pipe and treasure it as his or her sweet home? This detail conveys the idea that poverty is conspicuous and pervasive in India. In that pipe, Babu’s wife gave birth to their fourth child, whose three sisters and brothers had died. And his latest home is on the roof of a house, made from two rows of coal tar drums and a tarpaulin. It’s really hard to imagine that such a crude shelter can be a permanent residence for anyone. Moreover, he suffers from physical handicap, namely the loss of an ear and a leg. Apart from all that has been inflicted on him, we should not neglect the fact that Babu actually is a school master. Even a well-educated civilian has to spend most of his time and energy striving to survive, to meet the basic needs of his life. Then it is not hard for us to speculate how the ordinary people make a living.
Even under these circumstances, Babu still shows great optimism. Generally, when we try to define the word “optimism”, we tend to associate it with an outlook on life such that one maintains a view of the world as a positive place. And Babu seems to be content with everything. Whether it is about his diet, his handicap, or the roof he and his wife occupy, he always finds some good reasons to be satisfied with. Some concrete examples might give some light to this point. When it comes to his loss of one leg due to a fall from the roof of a tram, Babu says, “I don’t mind my handicap at all; I need wear only one sandal and thereby save on footwear” (58). What a light tone! We have every good reason to admire him for his optimism. As regards his sweet home on the roof of an old building, with a tarpaulin serving as the roof and rows of coal tar drums functioning as walls, Babu describes its advantages as low rent, better ventilation and illumination, being free from the disturbance of rats and mice and rodents, as well as spacious room for his son to play. (58) Nothing else can better demonstrate just how optimistic Babu is, because anyone else in a similar situation is very likely to complain about the chilly wind in winter and the scorching sun in summer, let alone the sense of uncertainty aroused by the lack of a settlement.
But it is exactly this positive attitude he adopts that seems a little bit strange. Usually, when someone relates a sad and miserable experience, it’s common to speak in a grave and depressing tone. What on earth is the author’s underlying implication by creating such a contrasting effect? If you read this story once or twice, you might find it amusing and even burst into laughter when you read the humorous comments given by Babu. However, the more you read, the stronger a feeling becomes. It is a feeling beyond joy or sorrow, a feeling that requires contemplation. How can Babu be that philosophical? According to the context of the story, Babu and his wife are both Hindus. So it is apparent that he doesn’t believe in God. Then it can't be the salvation that he is expecting. “With no fears and anxieties” (59), and with no expectations and anticipations, Babu is leading a robotic existence, indifferent to any external changes. To be specific, what lies beneath his routine daily life is a deep sense of despair.
There are a number of details in the passage that illustrate this despair. However, some of them simply hide beneath the surface. Only with the help of an in-depth analysis can one search, feel, and finally find them.
It is common sense that people are most sensitive to pains, both physical and mental. A handicap always brings with it a severe, long-lasting, even permanent physical pain. But Babu seems to have grown numb to this kind of pain. As is mentioned above, Babu doesn’t mind his handicap at all and actually feels satisfied with the advantage his handicap brings him: the need to wear only one sandal which saves wear and tear on footwear (58). He himself might be amused by his own words. But I am not. How can a normal person care so little about his or her own body? Does one more sandal matter so much that it can compensate for the loss of a body part as well as the physical pain and inconvenience? Only someone like Babu who has grown totally numb to misery and hope might think so. Then where does this numbness come from? It comes from the loss of hope and the despair in one’s future life. If someone sees no future, then today doesn’t make much sense either.
The loss of a child can be a great pain for most families. But for Babu, it’s easy to talk about his three short-lived children. “One died of diphtheria back home in Dacca; two, from fatigue, on our long trek on foot to Calcutta (57).” He speaks in such a calm and peaceful tone that I can hardly sense any sorrow. It’s really abnormal and weird for a human being to relate his or her children’s deaths in an emotionless way, unless he or she has become so accustomed and numb to such tragedies that no sensations can penetrate the shield and tug at the heart strings. Babu describes his fourth child as “someone to look after [him] in [his] old age, to do [his] funeral rites when [he] dies” (57). He doesn’t lay a high expectation on his child. I doubt if he had thought about it. It seems that his biggest wish is to live and die peacefully, without struggling or protesting, without any intention of controlling his own destiny.
When the story comes to its ending, when the couple are content with their poor life and “quietly look at the passing scene: a tram burning, a man stabbing another man, a woman dropping her baby in a garbage bin” (59), I am in deep sorrow. Had it not been for the despair, anyone in such a situation would have done something. At least, they should have asked “Why? Who is to blame? How can we change this?” While I admit that by acting in a philosophical and optimistic way, Babu certainly avoids much disturbance that otherwise might have occurred if he tries to do something to change this situation. Nevertheless, this seeming optimism is in effect a kind of escape from reality. Poverty certainly is awful. But what really matters is to try whatever means possible to fight against it, rather than pretend to be “enjoying” the poverty and believe in the so-called optimism.
There is no doubt that this story contains wonderful description about the life of the poor. Babu’s life peacefully goes on as the story ends. But this strong sense of despair that lies underneath the surface still lingers on. And we should not be content to look quietly at the passing scenes of Babu’s wretched life. Perhaps it is a story involving not only Babu’s life, but also the attitude and aspiration we should have in our own lives.
Work Cited
Krishnan, Varma. “The Grass-Eaters.” 1985. Rpt. in “The International Story”. Page 56-59
Thomas Feng
June 6, 2007
Draft three
Optimism, or Despair?
Poverty is awful. But it can be worse if you give up your hope and faith instead of struggling to get rid of it. This is what I have learned from “The Grass-Eaters” by Krishnan Varma. In this novel, Varma tells the story of an Indian school master, Ajit Babu, who adopted an optimistic attitude towards the poverty and miseries he suffered. He finally grew so accustomed to it that he was able to watch in peace and contentment the passing scenes that reflected the darkest side of the society. However, despite the optimism and even the sense of humor Babu showed, there was a deep sense of despair that lay underneath it.
At first sight, Varma’s description of poverty in Calcutta seemed astonishing. Then I noticed that the population of India is one of the largest, second only to that of China, which made it extremely difficult to raise the overall living conditions of its people. Besides, I have learned long ago that in India, the gap between the rich and the poor is so huge that it has already become a serious social problem. After I have taken all these into consideration, such descriptions seem to make sense. And the heroin, Babu was exactly such a typical Indian who suffered from grinding poverty. He almost experienced all the miseries one could imagine. With the change of his residence as a clue, the novel develops in such a way that provides us with a overall view of the wretched life Babu was leading. He once lived on a footpath “so crowded with residents, refugees and locals that if you got up at night to relieve yourself you could not be sure of finding your place again”(56). After that, he moved to a cement pipe which Babu “had found more comfortable” (56) than any of his previous homes. In that pipe, his wife gave birth to their fourth child, whose three sisters and brothers had died. And his latest home was on the roof of a house, made from two rows of coal tar drums and a tarpaulin. He also suffered from physical handicap, namely the loss of an ear and a leg. Moreover, we should neglect the fact that Babu actually was a school master. Even a well-educated civilian had to spend most of his time and energy striving to survive, to meet the basic needs of his life. Then it’s not hard for us to speculate how the ordinary people made a living.
Even under these circumstances, Babu still showed great optimism. Generally, when we try to define the word “optimism”, we tend to associate it with an outlook on life such that one maintains a view of the world as a positive place. And Babu seemed to be content with everything. No matter it was about his diet, his handicap, or the roof he and his wife occupy, he always found some good reasons to be satisfied with the reality. Some concrete examples might give some light to this point. When it came to his handicap, Babu said, “I don’t mind my handicap at all; I need wear only one sandal and thereby save on footwear” (58). What a light tone! We have every good reason to admire him for his optimism.
But it is exactly this positive attitude he adopted that makes me feel a little bit strange. Usually, when someone relates a sad and miserable experience, it’s common to speak in a grave and depressing tone. What on earth was the author’s underlying implication by creating such a contrasting effect? If you read this novel once or twice, you might find it amusing and even burst into laughter when you read the humorous comments given by Babu. However, the more you read, the stronger a feeling becomes. It is a feeling beyond joy or sorrow, a feeling that requires contemplation. How could Babu be that philosophical? It’s obvious that he didn’t believe in God. Then it couldn't be the salvation that he was expecting. “With no fears and anxieties” (59), and with no expectations and anticipations, Babu was leading a robotic existence, indifferent to any external changes. To be specific, he was in deep despair.
There are so many details in the passage that illustrate this despair. I picked three out of them. It’s common sense that people are most sensitive to pains, both physical and mental. A handicap always brings with it a severe, long-lasting, even permanent physical pain. But Babu seemed to have grown numb to this kind of pain. As far as his handicap was concerned, Babu said, “I don’t mind my handicap at all; I need wear only one sandal and thereby save on footwear” He himself might be amused by his own words. But I am not. How can a normal person care so little about his or her own body? Does the save on footwear matter so much that it can compensate for the loss of a body part as well as the physical pain and inconvenience? Only someone who has grown totally numb to misery and hope might think so, like Babu. Then where does this numbness come from? I believe it comes from the loss of hope and the despair in one’s future life. If someone sees no future, then today doesn’t make much sense either.
The loss of a child can be a great pain for most families. But for Babu, it’s easy to talk about his three short-lived children. “One died of diphtheria back home in Dacca; two, from fatigue, on our long trek on foot to Calcutta (57).” He spoke in such a calm and peaceful tone that I can hardly sense any sorrow. It’s really abnormal and weird for a human being to relate his or her children’s deaths in an emotionless way, unless he or she have become so accustomed and numb to such tragedies that no sensations can penetrate the shield and tug at the heart strings. Babu described his fourth child as “someone to look after us in our old age, to do our funeral rites when we died (57)”. He didn’t lay a high expectation on his child. I doubt if he had thought about it. It seemed that his biggest wish was to live and die peacefully, without struggling or protesting, without any intention of controlling his own destiny.
When the story comes to its ending, when the couple were content with their poor life and “quietly looked at the passing scene: a tram burning, a man stabbing another man, a woman dropping her baby in a garbage bin”(59), I am in deep sorrow. Had it not been for the despair, anyone in such a situation would have done something. At least, they should have asked “Why? Who is to blame? How can we change this?” While I admit that by acting in a philosophical and optimistic way, Babu certainly avoided much disturbance that otherwise might have occurred if he tried to do something to change this situation, this seeming optimism is in effect a kind of escape from reality. Poverty certainly is awful. But what really matters is to try whatever means possible to fight against it, rather than pretend to be “enjoying” the poverty and believe in the so-called optimism.
Frankly speaking, I have never read such a wonderful description about living in grinding poverty. I suppose Varma’s intention by giving a vivid depiction of Babu’s optimism is to make us be aware of this sense of despair that lies underneath the surface, which in turn provokes further thinking about the story, and also about the life of ourselves.
Work Cited
Varma, Krishnan. “The Grass-Eaters.” 1985. Rpt. in “The International Story”. Page 56-59
Thomas Feng
May 5,2007
Draft one
Optimism, or Despair?
Poverty is awful. But it can be worse if you give up your hope and faith instead of struggling to get rid of it. This is what I have learned from “The Grass-Eaters” by Krishnan Varma. In this novel, Varma tells the story of an Indian school master, Ajit Babu, who adopted an optimistic attitude towards the poverty and miseries he suffered. He finally grew so accustomed to it that he was able to watch in peace and contentment the passing scenes that reflected the darkest side of the society. However, despite the optimism and even the sense of humor Babu showed, there was a deep sense of despair that lay underneath it.
I learned long ago that in India, the gap between the rich and the poor is so huge that it has already become a serious social problem. Babu seemed to be such a typical Indian who suffered from grinding poverty. He almost experienced all the miseries one could imagine. He once lived on a footpath “so crowded with residents, refugees and locals that if you got up at night to relieve yourself you could not be sure of finding your place again”(56). He had four children, three of whom had died. He also suffered from physical handicap, namely the loss of an ear and a leg. Besides, we should neglect the fact that Babu actually was a school master. Even a well-educated civilian had to spend most of his time and energy striving to survive, to meet the basic needs of his life. Then it’s not hard for us to speculate how the ordinary people made a living.
Even under these circumstances, Babu still showed great optimism. When someone relates a sad and miserable experience, it’s common to speak in a grave and depressing tone. However, Babu seemed to be content with everything. No matter it was about his diet, his handicap, or the roof he and his wife occupy, he always found some good reasons to be satisfied with the reality. Some concrete examples might give some light to this point. When it came to his handicap, Babu said, “I don’t mind my handicap at all; I need wear only one sandal and thereby save on footwear”(58). What a light tone! We have every good reason to admire him for his optimism.
But it is exactly this positive attitude he adopted that makes me feel sad and sorry for he. After pondering this feeling for a while, I suddenly realized that the author’s underlying implication by creating such a contrasting effect was not what it looked like. If you read this novel once or twice, you might find it amusing and even burst into laughter when you read the humorous comments given by Babu. However, the more you read, the stronger a feeling become. It is a feeling of deep despair.
Let’s look back at the example I used above to illustrate Babu’s optimism. How can a normal person care so little about his or her own body? Does a sandal matter so much that it can compensate for the physical pain and inconvenience? Only someone who has grown totally numb to misery and hope might think so, like Babu. Then where does this numbness come from? I believe it comes from the loss of hope and the despair in one’s future life.
Also, Babu’s despair can be felt when he talked about his children. “One died of diphtheria back home in Dacca; two, from fatigue, on our long trek on foot to Calcutta (57).” He spoke in such a calm and peaceful tone that I can hardly sense any sorrow. It’s really abnormal and weird for a human being to relate his or her children’s deaths in an emotionless way, unless he or she have become so accustomed and numb to such tragedies that no sensations can penetrate the shield and tug at the heart strings. Babu described his fourth child as “someone to look after us in our old age, to do our funeral rites when we died (57)”. He didn’t lay a high expectation on his child. I doubt if he had thought about it. It seemed that his biggest wish was to live and die peacefully, without struggling or protesting, without any intention of controlling his own destiny.
When the story comes to its ending, when the couple were content with their poor life and “quietly looked at the passing scene: a tram burning, a man stabbing another man, a woman dropping her baby in a garbage bin”(59), I am in deep sorrow. Had it not been for the despair, anyone in such a situation would have done something. At least, they should have asked “Why? Who is to blame? How can we change this?” Therefore, from my point of view, Babu’s seeming optimism is a kind of escape from reality. Poverty certainly is awful. But what really matters is to try whatever means possible to fight against it, rather than pretend to be “enjoying” the poverty and believe in the so-called optimism.
Frankly speaking, I have never read such a wonderful description about living in grinding poverty. I suppose Varma’s intention by giving a vivid depiction of Babu’s optimism is to make us be aware of this sense of despair that lies underneath the surface, which in turn provokes further thinking about the story, and also about the life of ourselves.
Work Cited
Varma, Krishnan. “The Grass-Eaters.” 1985. Rpt. in “The International Story”. Page 56-59
0519065
Thomas Feng
June 21, 2007
Final Timed Writing
From The Necklace, what might have been the quality of Mme. Loisel’s life if she had not lost the necklace? Is her life better or worse now?
This is really an interesting topic to discuss about. It seems that all the miseries Mme. Loisel has suffered are caused by the lost of a paste necklace. If she had not lost the necklace, she would be enjoying a glamorous life with ease by now. But from another angle, I still hold the belief that her poor life now is better for her.
Let me suppose what might happen after that night when Loisel Mathilde and her necklace safely reached home. She attracted so much attention at the ball, with a beautiful face and graceful etiquette, that soon after that night, she would receive more invitations to various balls. With closer contact with people from the higher hierarchy, Mathilde were gradually accepted by those so-called social elites. Then it became much easier for her to find her humble husband a new job with higher salary, and also some opportunities to make a fortune. The couples would become rich and Mathilde would become the actual mistress of the family. She would eventually realize her dream, enjoying a materialistic and luxurious life, savoring the sweet compliments for her charm and glamour from all the men she knew. In a word, from the materialistic angle, the quality of her life would be utterly different from what it is now.
But is this kind of rich, easy life necessarily better that her hard but earnest life now? I am afraid not. Because it is the hard work that makes our life a better one. And it’s also where the true meaning of life lies. While we admit that it’s a perfectly natural thing for human beings to long for power, wealth, social status, they are not the ultimate goal of our life. It is the process during which one learns about responsibility and effort that really matters. Usually, an easy, comfortable life leads to inner vacancy, as is the case of many rich people. If Mathilde does realize her dream, I doubt if she will find it really fantastic after the initial excitement and delight. On the contrary, hard as it is, her present life has taught her almost everything life contains: bitter, diligence, responsibility. These have sharpened her mind, shaped her strong personalities, and made her mentally tough. Compared with beauty and wealth, the benefits of being rich in terms of spiritual life far outweigh the skin-deep, instantaneous joy brought by praises and envies. Some materialistically rich people may never have a chance to experience this. Fortunately, Mathilde is favored by God. By making her accidentally lose the paste necklace, God has granted her this opportunity to savor the true taste of life.
Thomas Feng
Reading Log for “The Necklace”
To be frank, it’s hard for me to tell whether I like this story or not, since after reading "The Necklace", something just came right into my mind. It reminded me that I once had a similar experience with that of Mathilde. After borrowing an earphone from my classmate, I accidentally broke it apart one day. For fear that my friend might blame me for that and become unwilling to lend me anything else, I simply bought a new one and returned it to him without telling him what had happened to the original one. However, luckily for me, that earphone was worth no more than 100 yuan, a rather cheap piece of article compared to the 36000 francs worth of necklace.