WRI 212 Emma Huelskamp September 10, 2014
Genre Analysis 1
All of the observational meditation essays that we have studied in class have completely redefined my understanding of the essay. This particular genre is incredibly expressive and seems to argue no point further than an experience or perception. A few of the essays ( Consider the Lobster, Rain and the Rhinoceros ) seem to have a more argumentative tone, but on closer examination, their arguments are synthesized purely through the mind of the author. There are no statistics cited, no facts quoted or studies referenced. David Foster Wallace, for example, almost seems to mock scholarly precision by adding all citations that are strictly commentary. He certainly provides scientific references in his discussion of the ethical repercussions of consuming lobster, but none of his sources are included in his citations. Any outside information provided is offered only as part of the author’s stream of consciousness, to add credence and understanding to their version of the world. Even these few that have the appearance of an argument are quite ambiguous at first. The meaning or point of the writing is not made immediately apparent. In most of the essays it is not made apparent at all.
It is this seeming lack of point that brings me, ironically, to my second point. That these essays, while not completely devoid of form, all seem to be sort of extended rhythmic poetry.
The way each author plays with imagery, and indeed all of the senses, causes the reader to experience much the same effect as a poem would. The most striking example of this is Sontag’s
Unguided Tour . The swirling prose offers snippets of narrative, dialogue, place and profundity.
They say.
They say a trip is a good time for repairing a damaged love. Or else it’s the worst. Feelings like shrapnel half worked out of the wound. Opinions. And competition of opinions. Desperate amatory exercises back at the hotel on golden summer afternoons. Room service.
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1 Susan Sontag, Unguided Tour in T HE N EXT A MERICAN E SSAY at 31.
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WRI 212 Emma Huelskamp September 10, 2014
Ticket to the Fair , also by David Foster Wallace, is a more subtle example of this poetic prose.
The chronological nature of this piece differentiates it significantly from most of the other essays we’ve studied.
I have my first moment of complete East Coast cynicism: a quick look under the edge of the fake-grass mat reveals the real grass underneath, flattened and already yellowing.
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The rhythm of this sentence is extremely poetic and its meaning loaded. So much is wound into the phrase “East Coast cynicism”; a whole world of meaning flashes before the reader’s mind with those words. It is not only poetry of sound, but poetry of meaning.
The third thread that connects most of the essays we’ve studied is their handling of description. Each author paints a vivid picture of place, whether or not there is meaning explicitly attached to that description. The descriptions in Sontag’s essay, for example, form a whirling, continuous sense of time by providing intensely descriptive moments strung together almost incoherently. This is very different from Dillard’s essay,
Seeing , which creates whole places and invites the reader fully into her world. Consider the Lobster is another example of this creation of a complete world. In Wallace’s case, that world is the Main Lobster Festival. I could almost taste the butter and feel the humid food steam clinging to my face as I read his essay.
As to how I can use these qualities as I write for our first assignment, I believe all three of the aspects I have addressed will be highly relevant and will work well with the place I have chosen to explore. I will be writing about the Turner Gallery in London, which is full not just of the artists finished works, but his notebooks, color tests, letters, etc. I hope to mimic Dillard’s powerful creation of place to bring my reader into the whitewashed halls of the gallery on the
2 David Foster Wallace, Ticket to the Fair in T HE A MERICAN E SSAY at 349.
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WRI 212 Emma Huelskamp September 10, 2014 misty spring afternoon I was there. I hope, too, to explore Sontag’s distortion of time and poetic, rhythmic speech patterns. My first point, the hidden character of the “point” of most of the essays, may be more difficult to incorporate into my own writing. I will attempt to conceal my twist, and give my reader a sense of my opinion simply by my descriptions and choice of words.
I am hoping to meld the poetic-prose quality with transporting descriptions.
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