Tuesday, June 7, 2011
"On Fire," Larry Brown -- pg. 407
Use this post to discuss "On Fire" by Larry Brown. Those who come first can answer questions 1, 2, or 3 under "Thinking Critically" on pg 410. Otherwise, discuss the essay in terms of strenghts and weaknesses. What does Brown do well? What questions does he raise? What techniques does he use that you can implement in your own writing?
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Question #1 (Thinking Critically): Paragraph 10 gives a whole new perspective of what firefighters actually do. Some unusual tasks that Brown mentioned in this paragraph were: "crawling under taxpayer's houses for their dogs;" "go inside vulverts where snakes may be hiding" "learn how to read blood pressure;" "learn major arteries of the body," etc. I would imagine that firefighters are also responsible to help get people out of their house if they're locked from inside. They also help get an owner's dog or cat of a tree.
ReplyDeleteBrown approached this essay with some strong techniques. First being that this essay is nonfiction and actually based of his life, will engage readers to read the rest of the essay. I liked how he used his five senses in parts of his essay. I also liked how he used vivid imagery along with his five senses so the reader can actually capture the moment. One thing that I found odd in this essay is its hard to figure out the actual tone of the essay since it goes from sad to happy then sad again. Brown should have rearranged some of the paragraphs so it has a continuous flow. Otherwise this essay makes me think about what firefighters actually do? Should firefighters be more recognized based on all the different tasks they do? If I had to use particular techniques in this essay, I would take Brown's idea of using using my five senses along with vivid imagery so the reader can capture the moment taking place.
Question #1 (Thinking Critically): Paragraph 10 gives a whole new perspective of what firefighters actually do. Some unusual tasks that Brown mentioned in this paragraph were: "crawling under taxpayer's houses for their dogs;" "go inside vulverts where snakes may be hiding" "learn how to read blood pressure;" "learn major arteries of the body," etc. I would imagine that firefighters are also responsible to help get people out of their house if they're locked from inside. They also help get an owner's dog or cat of a tree.
ReplyDeleteBrown approached this essay with some strong techniques. First being that this essay is nonfiction and actually based of his life, will engage readers to read the rest of the essay. I liked how he used his five senses in parts of his essay. I also liked how he used vivid imagery along with his five senses so the reader can actually capture the moment. One thing that I found odd in this essay is its hard to figure out the actual tone of the essay since it goes from sad to happy then sad again. Brown should have rearranged some of the paragraphs so it has a continuous flow. Otherwise this essay makes me think about what firefighters actually do? Should firefighters be more recognized based on all the different tasks they do? If I had to use particular techniques in this essay, I would take Brown's idea of using using my five senses along with vivid imagery so the reader can capture the moment taking place.
-Trisha Chitkara
Question 2- Summarize what for Brown were the worst aspects of being a firefighter. Then explain what he liked about the job.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, Brown discusses the risks and dangers of being a firefighter such as, burning like a candle, going easy on their oxygen tank, driving to the unknown, raising a ladder, pulling the rope to the second floor, moving downed high-voltage lines, seeing death, hearing sounds of the injured, working in deadly heat and extreme cold.
Brown enjoys and loves being a firefighter because it gives him pride when they walk down the street while everyone watches them, get day-old doughnuts, people brings all kinds of goodies for them to enjoy during the holiday season.
Mandeep Sekhon
I think Larry Brown does a good job in the beginning by telling the readers what it feels like being a fire fighter. He makes you feel like you are a fire fighter about to go into a burning building.
ReplyDeleteStephen Kwak
One of the strengths of Larry Brown is showing not telling the reader how it feels like rushing into a burning building. He writes in a way like the reader is a fire fighter, and all the problems they might encounter.
ReplyDeleteStephen Kwak
On fire
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the bravery and courage of a fire fighter. These heroes are willing to give up their lives to save others. I think this essay is a good reminder on how important it is for us to recognize and celebrate them for their selfless action. These men and women need our appreciations.
The idea that I found intresting is the vivid description of a firefighters everyday life. I never gave a thought how it would be like inside a fire station, i think the writter did an exellent job creating that picture. Because of the way it explains everything, I've become more appreciative.
3)
Enat
I like this essay because Brown explains the difficult labor that the firefighter does using his own experience. The beginning of almost all paragraphs says “You learn…” this phrase in each paragraph really made me feel part of the story because it introduces me into this world of fire which was unfamiliar for me.
ReplyDeleteOne question that it creates is how does he fight with his own feeling to rescue people?. He talks about how people thank him for his job, but, he does not said if he think is fair do not be paid for this job?
In his techniques, I think he uses different examples of figure language because he appeals to sense when he describes the smell of the things burning such plastic, and what these odors make you feel in your body. In addition, Brown uses simile such “you can burn like a candle”, trying to express that even if you represent a hero, in the end; you are a simple human being. I share the opinion that Trisha has about the tone is a little sad. I found the tone sometimes dramatic like in this sentence “you see death and hear the sounds of the injured”. I believe he assumes his difficult job, but he realized that you learn to love and feel proud about it, so sometimes I feel heroism in his words. In the last paragraph, he explains with many details all the steps that he does to be ready for any emergency. In this way, the reader can recreate this atmosphere with all the instruments and preparation that they must do.
Gissela Boza
fire fighters are very brave. The essay explains it very dicriptivly. most of the time they have it pretty easy in most places besides big cities. the esaay explains the actual life of a fire fighter from the first day kind of to the end of a career. I think they put alot of thought into this esaay because he also explains the good and the bad that comes with the territory. They inspire me but I would never go into a burning anything..
ReplyDelete-Cole
I also agree with steven... Hes making the reader the fire fighter...
ReplyDelete-Cole