Reflective Reading Record Student Sample (follow this format only):
“...I am not so violently bent upon my
own opinion as to reject any proposed
offer by wise men, which shall be found
equally innocent, cheap, easy and
effectual.”
Swift, Jonathan. “A Modest Proposal.”
England. 1729. Print. 502.
Admittedly, throughout most of this
“modest proposal” of his, I was horrified.
The point where it occurred to me that
he was being, as we discussed in class,
“satirical”, was this line. It was at this
point that I realized that he was
extending a challenge to the reader, and
really to society, to find a better solution
than this one. I was actually rather
relieved by this, because rather than a
plea for an unreasonable and insane
“solution”,
Swift is instead requesting a reasonable
counterpoint that could be put into effect
to truly fix Ireland in its time of need. I
realize that this isn’t much of a personal
connection, but I believe that it should
be noted that it’s hard to relate to a work
that encourages cannibalism and, more
specifically, the eating (and wearing) of
babies.
“...At one time, there had been a recital
of some sort... a perfunctory, tuneless
chant that had been rattled off duly each
year...”
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.”
Literature for Life. Pearson.
Boston: 1948. 902-908.
When I was a bit younger, I was
fascinated by the mythologies of other
cultures. Something about the old myths
of, say, Zoroastrianism or the ancient
Greeks just fascinated me. When I
came to this line upon my second time
reading through this short story,
something resonated in the mythology
nerd in me. Throughout the story, the
ambiguous and austerely factual nature
of the narrator simultaneously hints to
and masks an even darker underside to
this already terrible ritual. Clearly, this is
some kind of old-world sacrifice to a
Norse or Pagan god (which are among
the most brutal deities in the old stories).
When, later, Old Man Warner says,
“Lottery in June, crops be heavy soon”,
he seems to allude to this. These
human sacrifices were once said to
make crops grow more plentifully, but of
course must to be repeated annually to
ensure the continued mercy of the
corresponding spirit/deity. Clearly the
founders of this town were from a place
where these fringe practices were
accepted, and rather important.
What resonates with me the most
though is that the modern-day folk of
this town follow the ritual blindly, based
on a “that’s always the way that it’s
been” attitude.