Summary & Response Paper

The approach that I had to take when writing this Summary and Response paper was something that will stick to me, considering it was my first formal college assignment. After reviewing each prompt I decided to complete the first one regarding Freud’s criticism of doctors and how the patients who suffered from hysteria were treated. I felt that in doing so, I would be able to have deep connections between both Freud and Gilman. And so, this was the focus for me and what added depth and character to the assignment. Combining Freud’s points and his view on Dr. Breuer and relating it to “The Yellow Wallpaper”. The connections I have made were relative as both authors/speakers had an underlying message of how doctors treating hysteria ultimately led to the destruction of patients. The goal and purpose of this paper were to show the apparent truth of doctors. To show the duality between what one thought of such a profound and respected person, to what the reality was at the time. The aforementioned is also what compelled me to choose this prompt. It was astonishing to see how doctors who were said to be intellectual figures were ignorant of such an evident problem. I used this as my drive for this assignment. Also, knowing my peers and professors were my targeted audience made me have a clearer perspective. I understood what to write and what to avoid. Understanding that this text was familiar to them, there was not much background that needed to be covered. Instead, it was getting my perspective across and relating the two pieces to form one thesis. Feedback from both the professor and my fellow peers enabled me to strengthen my argument. I was also able to formulate a cohesive overall idea that I conveyed throughout the paper. 

Exploratory Essay

“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe was a literary piece I was fairly familiar with. As the majority of Poe’s works are dark and morbid this short story was definitely not an exception. When I read this in high school it was a voluntary act, and I understood the overall plot of the story. However, going back to it for this course, I had to bring in a Freudian perspective which added to the message the story provided. Writing the exploratory essay seemed like a pretty simple task, but as I started brainstorming my outline it became difficult. Unlike the previous Summary and Response paper I’ve written some of my peers haven’t read “The Black Cat”. And so, I had to write this paper in such a way where a brief synopsis would be given so my audience would understand the background of the story. Making this easier for readers to understand the connection between Poe and Freud. I knew I wanted to make alcohol and the temptations the narrator had as a focus, in order to represent displacement and repression. As I outlined my thoughts I started to develop a good base and wrote a decent draft. After making revisions and reading the thoughts my peers had on my paper, I believe my paper improved. Incorporating Freud’s concepts and adding them onto the unseemly events of “The Black Cat” allowed me to develop the purpose of my essay. I understood the message Poe was delivering in a more critical way, which also allowed me to enhance my writing.  

Critical Research Analysis Paper

In reflection to my experience while analyzing the short story “Where are you going, Where have you been?” by Joyce Carol Oates. I found that writing my research analysis paper on this story would be fitting as the prompt was to find how the author critiques and criticizes society as well relating said criticism to Freud. I needed my audience to be fully aware of what the purpose of my paper would be, this including both my professors and my peers who would potentially review my work. The paper would be based off the events shown in the story and I felt an immediate connection as a young woman who faced struggles regarding body image and how society portrays me.I felt that writing this paper would be simple because I saw an connection with the characters and events in the story and the concepts of Freud theories which were the id, ego, and superego as well. Understanding and correlating the critique that Oates makes also seemed manageable, but when formulating my first draft I found the difficulties I would have to face when including my scholarly articles. Finding articles that would support my idea on how women were portrayed sexually in America during the 1960’s appeared to be simple. However I needed to properly convey my thoughts and show the distinct link that the scholarly sources had with my paper, and that seemed challenging. Although I faced difficulties when doing this I was able to strengthen and incorporate more background when discussing with my Professor and getting feedback from peers who had similar issues. I was then able to channel the responses I got into my writing to further enhance my ideas and properly answer the prompt. After completing my essay and getting back reviews from my peers I was more confident in my work, than when I initially started.I felt I focused most on how Freud supported Oates critiques of society . I tried to embody how the concept of the id was something that was relative to both aspects of Freud and society. Improving on how much insight was given regarding the focus of society that Oates criticized was what I needed to further establish. After several adjustments and taking out what didn’t seem fit and instead adding evidence that would fully support my claims, I was able to substantiate the base of my essay.