Week 9: 10/27-11/2

Wild

Initial reaction:

This is definitely my favorite book we've read so far. In a weird way, I would say I connect with the reader. Of course her life experiences are way different from me, but the way she talks about life to herself really connects with me. I was immediately drawn into this book because I'm from Oregon and the PTC runs through Oregon, but also because this summer I was really into doing day hikes, and the Bridge of the Gods (where she says is her final destination is), is a place I went by a lot. I went to this little town after my hike to get something to eat before heading home, but I never realized that this place I was going was such a landmark. Now, when I go home I'm really interested to find and go on the trails that are a part of the PTC.

How I would write page 5--Who am I?

...And why not? I'd been so many things already. A daughter. An over achieving high-schooler who always wanted to be the best at everything. A supportive teammate who was in love with the game of soccer. A loving friend that would be there for the good and the bad. An ambitious dreamer with no thoughts of failure. I was the daughter of two loving parents who just wanted to see me be happy. As a teen, I disregarded the importance of home. I took the comfort of home for granted. In spite of this, I'm learning from my ungraciousness. I'm attending Gonzaga University in search of my passions. Everyday, I remember why I am here and how lucky I am to be doing what I am with all the support I have.

I didn't really recognize the importance of this passage my first time reading, but I think because you made us re-write it to correlate it to our own lives,  I found a little deeper meaning. Because Strayed has had a lot more life experience than I, I was surprised how easy it was for me to write this. Thinking about all the different ME's, I have been was an interesting take on my life. By examining all the things I have been, I was surprised how in this short paragraph I could portray how I've grown so easily.

The Dream of Common Language:
Strayed mentions this book a lot because its one she chooses to bring on her journey. On page 60, she mentions the poem "Power" from the book and I wanted to look into it further for my reading journal.

Power
by Adrienne Rich

Living in the earth-deposits of our history

Today a backhoe divulged out of a crumbling flank of earth
one bottle amber perfect a hundred-year-old
cure for fever or melancholy a tonic
for living on this earth in the winters of this climate.

Today I was reading about Marie Curie:
she must have known she suffered from radiation sickness
her body bombarded for years by the element
she had purified
It seems she denied to the end
the source of the cataracts on her eyes
the cracked and suppurating skin of her finger-ends
till she could no longer hold a test-tube or a pencil

She died a famous woman denying
her wounds
denying
her wounds came from the same source as her power.

Strayed says, "...but, The Dream of Common Language was my religion." This is a very bold statement and I wanted to see why she held this book of poems so holy. After reading this poem a couple time, I realized that Strayed related to this women that is described in the poem. Although I don't know anything about whats in the rest of the book, I can see how Strayed may have related to the women described. It's most apparent in the last stanza when she talks of wounds. Strayed's whole story is basically about coming to terms with the wound of loosing her mother and looking into the last line, "her wounds came from he same source as her power," really made me examine Strayed's character more. I think this line related to Strayed in the sense of how she came to find her inner strength from the wound of her mother.

Response to Critic:

I choose to look of the review that went with, "Vivid, touching and ultimately inspiring account of the life unraveling and of the journey that put it back together." -The Wall Street Journal
(http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204449804577069412160589948)

This critic was more like a little summary of the book. It take the most important feelings you get from the book, like Strayed's honesty throughout. I felt like this was a very positive critic and I thought it was good that although they gave her lots of praise, they also mentioned that their has been a plethora of other novice hiking book. Although I do think this was a genuine critic, I thought it would have been nice if the critic had questioned the book. Because it was such a positive critic, the critic's argument probably wasn't as convincing as it cold have been. I already love Wild even from the little amount we've read, so I didn't take too much convincing from the critic.