James McBride Response

Lily Terhune

November 21, 2014

ENGL 1100, Writing Skills Workshop

Professor Young

With many of my other classmates, had the opportunity to sit in the audience and watch the author, James McBride speak. Although I never got to read McBride’s most popular book, “The Good Lord Bird”, I was still able to connect with some of the topics he was talking about. McBride came out wearing a hat on his head and automatically felt comfortable with the crowd. He made jokes that us students could directly relate to. 

McBride gave a lot of advice for us to be who you we are. He explained that failure is okay and that we need to forgive ourselves for doing so. Also, he mentioned that there will always be someone better than you so failure is going to happen in our lives. For the first time ever that McBridge gave a speech he made us close our eyes then quickly open them again. He explained that life goes by just like that fast and you should do what you love for the rest of your life. He told us to imagine what we do when we aren't doing anything and find a way to achieve that. 

He also explained the importance that reading has on our overall intelligence. He told us that the way we can become smarter is to for example pick up the NY Times and read it every morning. And that is the way that we are going to broaden our knowledge.

I really enjoyed having James McBride come to our school because he did not just give us a boring assembly where we had to struggle to keep our eyes open. He gave an insightful talk that I received a lot of vital information from that is beneficial for my future. 

Lily Terhune

November 1, 2014

Professor Young

ENGW 1110

Dennis Dutton talks about beauty as something that is constantly evolving. Dennis argues on Ted Talks, “I have no doubt whatsoever that the experience of beauty, with its emotional intensity and pleasure, belongs to our evolved human psychology. The experience of beauty is one component in a whole series of Darwinian adaptations. Beauty is an adaptive effect, which we extend and intensify in the creation and enjoyment of works of art and entertainment.” His point about beauty is that our definition of beauty changes along with our evolution. There are also different kinds of beauty. There is natural beauty and artistic beauty. The definition of beauty varies from each person’s opinion on what pleases their eye and arouses them.

What pleases many eyes is the hand axe. Dennis makes the point that the ancient hand axe is beautiful. We aren't sure what the hand axe was exactly used for. From the hand axe’s symmetry to the hand axe’s blades, it is viewed as beautiful. Beauty goes back all the way to the ancient times. The artifacts were the earliest forms of art. They had jewelry and makeup which all represented beauty.

Evolution tricks us to be aroused by the sight of something, resulting in us finding it beautiful. Today, we look to movies and landscapes as beautiful. We also think people and and food can be beautiful. But all these things are so vastly different. That is why Dutton thinks we do not have a set definition on what we think is beautiful. The experience of beauty changes with our human evolution.