Make at least one comment in the Classroom from one of the discussion
suggestions below. Then
select one of the suggested writing
assignments below.
1. Analyze the first paragraph of "Where Are You Going, Where Have
You Been?" for the contrast between generalities and concrete details.
What are the functions of each?
2. Locate physical descriptions of Connie and show what abstractions
about her are implied.
3. As the details that describe Arnold Friend change, how does our
understanding of him change?
4. Take any long paragraph of this story and underline the active
verbs. Try substituting them with passive constructions and linking
verbs. What is the effect?
5. Note the rhythm of the paragraph beginning, "And Connie paid close
attention…" Contrast the following paragraph. How do the two
rhythms reinforce the meaning?
1. The playwright Bertold Brecht had over his desk a sign that read,
"The Truth is Concrete." You will notice, however, that this sentence is
an abstraction (he didn't mean that the truth is cement). In your
journal, cluster the word "concrete." Write a passage about it. When
you're finished, check whether you have used any abstractions or
generalizations that could be effectively replaced by concrete details.
2. Paint a self-portrait in words. Prop a mirror in front of you and
describe, in the most focused sight details you can manage, twenty or
thirty things that you see. Then try to distance yourself from your
portrait and choose the two or three details that most vividly and
concisely convey the image you want to present. What attitude do you
want the reader to have? Should we find you funny, intense, pitiable,
vain, dedicated? Add a detail of sound, touch, smell, or taste that will
help convey the image.
3. Write a passage using significant details and active verbs about a
character who conveys one of the following:
- belongs to another century
- complete harmony
- brains are fried
- out of control
- kittenish or puppy-like
- the absolute boss
4. Write a description of a rural landscape, a city street, a room,
or the desk in front of you. Use only active verbs to describe inanimate
as well as animate things. Avoid the pathetic fallacy.
5. Write about a boring situation. Convince us that the situation is
boring and that your characters are bored or boring or both. Fascinate
us. Or make us laugh. Use no generalizations, no judgments, and no verbs
in the passive voice.
6. Write about one of the following and suggest the rhythm of the
subject in your prose: a machine, a vehicle, a piece of music, sex,
something that goes in a circle, an avalanche.
7. Write about a character who begins at a standstill, works up to
great speed, and comes to a halt again. The rush may be purely
emotional, or it may represent the speed of a vehicle, or pursuit, of a
sport, or whatever you choose. The halt may be abrupt or gradual. In any
case, let the prose rhythm reflect the changes.
8. Take any scene you have already written and "shrink for details."
That is, imagine yourself from the vantage point of something very small
-- no bigger than a button, a cockroach, an earlobe, a baked bean -- and
write a paragraph or a page using the details you see from that
perspective.
Have Fun!